Dr Mark Bonar in doping scandal

A doctor who worked at a London-based aesthetic clinic has hit the national headlines after being accused of prescribing banned performance- enhancing drugs to 150 elite sportsmen.

Dr Mark Bonar, 38, who consulted from the Omniya Clinic in Knightsbridge, allegedly charged sports stars, including premier footballers, boxers, cyclists and tennis players, thousands of pounds for illicit drug programmes, prescribing them banned substances such as substances such as erythropoietin (EPO), steroids and human growth hormone, a Sunday Times investigation claimed.

Dr Bonar reportedly told the paper during secret filming that he had not breached General Medical Council (GMC) rules, and that doping regulations were the responsibility of individual athletes.

Since the story broke it has also emerged that Dr Bonar no longer has a license to practice medicine in the UK and was already embroiled in a misconduct hearing with the GMC, which could see him struck off, relating to allegations that he failed to inform a patient her cancer was terminal, so that he could keep charging her for treatment.

Dr Bonar took to Twitter to defend himself saying: “The @SundayTimesNews allegations are false and very misleading. I have never had a relationship with any premier football club or player.”

In another Tweet he said: “I have never prescribed Androgen therapy for the purpose of performance enhancement…I treat symptomatic men with low test levels.”

He also claimed his license was “temporarily revoked because of a revalidation issue” on March 23 and had not practiced since then.

Responding to the story the Omniya Clinic, where Dr Bonar rented treatment rooms, said, “We terminated Dr Bonar’s professional services agreement with The Omniya Clinic on Friday (April 1) upon learning from The Sunday Times that the GMC had revoked Dr Bonar’s licence to practice medicine in the UK. Dr Bonar rented consulting rooms at our premises to treat his private patients over a period of about 18 months. We have checked our records thoroughly during the period Dr Bonar worked at Omniya and apart from the undercover athlete the Sunday Times used in its investigation, we can find absolutely no trace of a single high profile sportsman or woman, who has been treated or been seen at the clinic by Dr Bonar. We were never aware that the UK anti-doping watchdog (Ukad) had been provided with any evidence of Dr Bonar’s previous alleged activities, presumably because nothing happened as a result of it. It goes without saying that as a medical practice The Omniya Clinic vigorously condemns the prescribing and use of any illegal drugs by professional athletes.”

Last week the culture secretary, John Whittingdale, ordered an inquiry into the taxpayer-funded UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) watchdog, which was given evidence about the doctor’s doping activities two years ago, but failed to take any action to stop him.

 

 

 

 

 

ã Source: Sunday Times