A DOCTOR from Whitefield has been found to have "damaged the reputation of the medical profession" as a result of her shoplifting.

Dr Shumaila Sarfraz appeared before a fitness to practise hearing of the General Medical Council last week after receiving two separate police cautions for theft.

The adjudication panel found that, as a result of Dr Sarfraz's actions, her fitness to practise was impaired and she faces another hearing on June 17.

At the hearing next month, Dr Sarfraz, the senior house doctor at North Manchester General Hospital, can call character witnesses before the panel decides whether or not she should be suspended.

Dr Sarfraz claimed she was driven to shoplift in Manchester city centre as a result of "considerable stress" caused by family problems. She came to England in 1999 after an arranged marriage in Pakistan and had no friends or family, apart from one cousin.

The doctor, who lives in Whitefield, received a police caution in 2000 and 2004 for shoplifting and on one occasion lied to shift the blame onto her sister who was visiting from Pakistan, in order to protect her own career.

In the panel's determination, Dr Sarfraz was told: "It is clear from your evidence that you intended to mislead and that you acted dishonestly during the police interview. By your repeated dishonesty you have damaged the reputation of the medical profession."