Birmingham QE trainee doctor belittled at work, inquest told

Dr Kumar had contacted mental health services in 2019

A trainee doctor who took her own life told paramedics shortly before she died not to transport her to the hospital where she worked, an inquest heard.

It emerged in proceedings that Vaish Kumar, 35, who was based at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QE), had told her parents she had been belittled by consultants there.

Paramedics in June took her to City Hospital, Birmingham, where she died.

The trust running the QE said her unexpected death was a tragedy.

Birmingham and Solihull Coroner's Court heard on Monday that Dr Kumar began to struggle around December 2021 when she realised her training at the QE was being extended and she was not going to be able to take up a post in Stoke-on-Trent.

Her father, Dr Ravi Kumar, said his daughter had said consultants had been hypercritical of her.

"They used to pick up little things. Belittle, [condescend]," he said.

"She used to come back home and cry a little bit. One respiratory consultant was laughing at her during handover of an asthma patient."

When she discovered she was not moving sites, she began to go downhill, he explained.

Dr Kumar's father Dr Ravi Kumar said she complained of being belittled at work

Dr Kumar took her own life on 22 June having waited a sufficient amount of time before calling paramedics in the knowledge they would not be able to treat her, the inquest was told.

The court heard how she had calmly let them into the block of flats from where she phoned and greeted them at the front door.

In a statement to the court, paramedic Lindsey Strudwick explained Dr Kumar said she worked at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the QE, adding: "Under no circumstances am I to be conveyed there."

Paramedic Rachel Tranter said Dr Kumar did not want to be carried out of the property either, and walked before getting on to a stretcher.

She was taken to City Hospital, run by another trust, where rigorous attempts were made to save her.

Vaish Kumar died in June

A medical witness told the court that Dr Kumar had clearly stated to ambulance crews her actions were due to the pressures of work.

"The fact that any colleague should feel so helpless is a terrible tragedy," she said.

Dr Kumar's supervisor at the QE, Dr John Ayuk, said she was the kind of doctor that other juniors looked up to and would go to for advice.

"[Her death] came as a huge shock," he said. "Everyone in the department was saying If this could happen to Vaish, it could happen to anyone."

The inquest was told that Dr Kumar had previously contacted mental health services in 2019 but had not engaged.

On 28 May she had a telephone assessment which showed she had severe depression and moderately severe anxiety.

Dr Kumar worked at the QE in Birmingham

The inquest heard Dr Kumar suffered from a low platelet count which assistant coroner Ian Dreelan, who found she took her own life, said would have impacted on her mental health. She was also feeling low as a result of her grandfather's death, the court was told.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said its heartfelt condolences remained with Dr Kumar's family.

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