Man alleged to have posed as doctor to work at Middlemore Hospital named
Auckland reporters05:00, Aug 12 2022
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Yuvaraj Krishnan is being investigated by police for allegedly using fake documents to secure a job as a doctor.
The man who allegedly used fake documents to secure a job as a doctor at one of the country’s busiest hospitals can be named as Yuvaraj Krishnan.
Krishnan, claiming to be a registered medical practitioner, began work at Middlemore Hospital’s respiratory clinic in a clinical research position in February, where he reviewed patients under supervision.
Stuff on Thursday went to an Auckland property he co-owns, but he was not there. He has also scrubbed his social media accounts since Stuff broke the story on Thursday morning.
At an apartment building in Penrose, where Krishnan was believed to be, a man matching his description answered the door, but said his name was Steve Singh and claimed not to know Krishnan.
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When shown photos of Krishnan, the man agreed there was a resemblance between himself and the photos, but said it was not him or any of his relations.
He declined to show any ID.
RICKY WILSON/Stuff
A man matching the description of Yuvaraj Krishnan answered the door but said his name was Steve Singh and claimed not to know Krishnan.
Shortly afterwards, an Audi registered to Krishnan left the property.
A neighbour, who lives in the same apartment building, confirmed she knew ‘Steve Singh’ as Krishnan. He had told her he was a doctor, she said.
Police investigating allegation doctor faked documents to get Middlemore Hospital job
The person was employed in a clinical research position in February 2022.
Krishnan was stood down from his role on August 1 after Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau received concerns about his Medical Council registration status.
A Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau spokesperson earlier confirmed Krishnan was employed “on the basis of documentation that was not authentic”.
Were you one of his patients? Email [email protected]
His employment was “concluded” on August 10 and a complaint was filed with police the same day. A police investigation was under way.
Health Minister Andrew Little was also notified of the incident on Wednesday, more than a week on from Krishnan being stood down.
Krishnan was previously trespassed from the University of Auckland after posing as a medical student for two years.
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Yuvaraj Krishnan was also trespassed from Auckland University after posing as a medical student back in 2012.
In 2010, he was found to have forged a student ID card for the university, where he was carrying out cadaver dissections as part of his ‘study’.
The University of Auckland this week reconfirmed Krishnan did not graduate from and was never enrolled in the bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery (MBChB).
The University of Sydney said in an email he graduated in September 2016 with a Bachelor of Science – a three-year undergraduate degree.
It is unclear whether Krishnan went on to receive medical training overseas, but the University of Otago – home to New Zealand’s only other medical school – also confirmed there was no record of him ever graduating.
Before Krishnan closed his Facebook down, comment threads showed him joking about being a “rich doctor... buy[ing] mansions” next to a friend.
Counties Manukau’s chief medical officer Dr Andrew Connolly said the care of every patient seen by Krishnan had been reviewed and a “thorough” investigation showed there had been “no compromise” to any patient’s care.
The health district was undertaking a full investigation into its employment vetting processes.
