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An NHS doctor caught drink driving in his native Romania after having eight drinks including rums and beer in a nightclub has been allowed to keep his NHS job. 

Dr Petru Pascalau, 32, was stopped by police after he ignored pleas from fellow medics not to drive and was caught jumping a set of traffic lights at 4am.

He was subsequently banned from driving for a year and was given a suspended jail term - after promising to leave his car at home whenever he goes out drinking again.

Dr Pascalau, who works as a psychiatrist for a hospital trust in Barking and Dagenham in East London, was later hauled before a disciplinary hearing after referring himself to the General Medical Council.

Dr Pascalau explained the conviction was the 'biggest mistake of his life' but insisted it was an 'isolated incident which would never happen again'.

Dr Petru Pascalau was stopped by police after he ignored pleas from fellow medics not to drive

When asked what 'strategies' he had in place to prevent him repeating his conduct, he said he would leave his car at home if going out drinking with his friends again.

At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester, Dr Pascalau's fitness to practise medicine was ruled to be 'impaired' but he escaped with a two month suspension and will be able to return to work in September.

He is currently appealing against his conviction and sentence.

The incident took place in September 2019 whilst the doctor was out with fellow medics at a nightclub in Cluj-Napoca in Transylvania to celebrate the completion of a four-year psychiatry and psychotherapy training course.

At the nightclub he drank seven to eight drinks, including rum and beer, and he accepted that when he left he was drunk and would not have been able to walk in a straight line.

Despite being advised by friends, some of whom were also doctors, to walk home, he decided to drive to a friend's house two miles away. 

After driving for approximately one mile he went through a yellow light and was stopped by the police.

Officers saw Dr Pascalau was intoxicated and summoned the traffic police to breathalyse him and arrange a blood test sample. 

The following December at the Romania Court of Law of Cluj-Napoca, he was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment, suspended and was also ordered to be placed under 'surveillance' by probation officers for three years.

He had to carry out 80 hours community work and participate in a 'social reintegration programme'. The level of alcohol in his system was not disclosed.

Dr Pascalau currently works for the North East London NHS Foundation Trust (file picture)

Dr Pascalau referred himself to the GMC a week after the court case when he applied for a job in the UK at an employment agency for doctors.

He currently works for the North East London NHS Foundation Trust at a psychiatric hospital.

When asked by the tribunal what was 'going through his mind' when he chose to drive whilst intoxicated, the doctor told the hearing: 'I did not want to leave my car where it was parked as I would need it in the morning.

'I thought I would not get caught and at that time in the morning, the roads would not be busy and this would minimise the risk.

'It was silly and immoral and a poor decision but that was due to my intoxication. I had not had good judgment as my mind was impaired at the time.

'I cannot imagine doing it again and it has been hard to forgive myself. I would leave my car at home if I were to go out drinking with my friends again.'

The hearing was told Dr Pascalau started a contract with an employment agency, NES Healthcare, and was employed from March 2020 to March 2021, as a resident medical officer, undertaking placements in various hospitals. 

His contract at the psychiatric hospital has been extended until September 2021.

He added: 'I have worked at various hospitals across the UK and done more shifts than I imagined due to Covid. I cannot see how the public would benefit from me being suspended and this would only have the sole purpose of punishing me again.

'If my attitude comes across as defiant, this is not my intention. Perhaps its my body language, cultural difference, or how I frame my answers.'

The incident took place in September 2019 whilst the doctor was out with fellow medics at a nightclub in Cluj-Napoca (file picture) in Transylvania

But for the GMC, lawyer Chloe Hudson said: 'Dr Pascalau's offence was very serious as it involved a doctor drinking between seven and eight alcoholic drinks of two types and an intention to drive his vehicle between three and three and half kilometres.

'He was warned by friends, including fellow medical professionals, that he should not drive. However, he did not heed their advice. 

'The sheer amount that Dr Pascalau drank and his failure to heed the advice not to drive, means that his offence is not one that could be described as at the lower end of drink driving offences.

'There appears to be a lack of recognition on the part of Dr Pascalau to the danger that his activities posed to other roads users. 

'He suggested in his evidence that his drink driving was mitigated by the time of night and he appeared to have little thought for the damage he could have caused to himself, to other road users.

'Members of the public and fellow practitioners would be appalled by the choices Dr Pascalau made on that evening.'

Tribunal chairman Ms Sharmistha Michaels said: 'There is no suggestion that Dr Pascalau has put patients at risk or acted dishonestly. 

'Throughout his evidence he has been frank and candid in terms of setting out the background to the offence. He has expressed genuine remorse for the behaviour which led to his conviction.

'He has been open and honest and not sought to deflect responsibility for his actions. 

'However, while he assured the Tribunal that he would not repeat such conduct in the future, he was unable to articulate clearly the strategies he has in place to prevent such a repetition.

'When asked to consider not taking his car out if he was planning to drink, he was quick to accept that he would adopt such a strategy. As such, the Tribunal determined that while his insight was advanced, it was still developing.'