A GP charged cancer patients up to £15,000 for garlic oil injections, promising a 90 per cent cure rate from a “squalid and unsanitary” room in his council house, a tribunal has found. Dr Mohsen Ali, who qualified from Cairo University in 1994 and began working in the UK in 2001, has been struck off the medical register after the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) ruled that he posed a “high and ongoing risk to public protection”.
Between January and September 2018, Dr Ali consulted with and treated two patients who had cancer. One, identified only as Patient A, had stage three prostate cancer; the other, Patient B, had stage four ovarian cancer and had been told by the NHS that nothing more could be done after the disease returned. Dr Ali told both that he could cure them. He charged Patient A £15,000 and Patient B between £10,000 and £12,000. Patient B died shortly after her treatment in 2018. Her husband later realised the payment had been made under a “false pretence”.
Dr Ali advertised himself in a flyer that read: “In the name of Allah the best healer we aim to achieve over 90 per cent cure rate in the most challenging illnesses e.g. Cancer (Malignant Tumours).” During a telephone conversation with Patient A, Dr Ali laughed and said prostate cancer was “so easy to cure” that he would offer a refund if unsuccessful. He also told both patients that the NHS was “trying to kill them” and that hospitals “only wanted their money”. He advised Patient A not to listen to NHS doctors, claiming they were “just trying to make money” from chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The tribunal later heard that Dr Ali caused a delay in Patient A receiving appropriate, evidence-based treatment by telling him that a rising PSA level was “normal”.
The treatments took place at Dr Ali’s semi-detached council house in Leicestershire. He administered injections that he said contained Vitamin C and garlic oil but was “evasive” when asked about other ingredients. One patient said that when the cannula was removed, blood would spurt out and could easily have gone on other people in the room. Some liquids used during treatments were not stored in sterile conditions. Police investigating a report found non-sterilised containers in a Halfords box. An “old, decaying” mattress was visible in the garden. There were no separate kitchen or toilet facilities for the patients; the premises were shared with a household living upstairs. An expert described the house as “squalid, unprofessional, unhygienic, neglected and highly inappropriate premises shared with a household living upstairs”. The research briefing notes that there were also concerns about the re-use of intravenous bags, which posed a risk of infectious diseases.
Dr Ali also offered ozone therapy – a controversial alternative medicine – and, in the case of Patient B, administered substances including Vitamin C, oxygenated water, ozone treatment and sodium bicarbonate. He claimed to do “herbal natural treatment”, cupping, and faith Quran healing. The tribunal found that he would have been aware of the lack of evidence supporting his treatments for cancer. While garlic contains compounds such as allicin and diallyl disulfide that have shown anti-cancer effects in laboratory studies, human trials have not proven it can prevent or cure cancer. The research briefing notes that some epidemiological studies suggest a possible modest risk reduction for gastric and colorectal cancers with high raw garlic intake, but the evidence is mixed and the injection of garlic oil is not a validated or approved medical treatment. Dr Ali’s exploitation of vulnerable cancer patients is part of a wider pattern of cancer treatment misinformation that spreads rapidly, particularly online, and can lead to patients abandoning evidence-based care.
Dr Ali had held a full UK licence to practise from 2004 until it was withdrawn in January 2015, due to failing to comply with revalidation requirements as a GP, though he remained registered as a doctor. He had faced previous fitness to practise proceedings: he was suspended for six months for deficient professional performance and dishonest conduct, including falsifying patient records, and later had conditions imposed on his registration for two years because he had not remedied the deficient performance. In December 2019, he was convicted of dangerous driving, receiving a suspended prison sentence and a driving disqualification. After police began their investigation into the clinic, Dr Ali left the country and did not attend the MPTS hearing. He acknowledged that he was not registered but said he did not need to be because all his work was therapeutic.
Operating an unregistered clinic for treating disease, disorder or injury is a criminal offence in the UK. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England regulates healthcare services. Dr Ali’s clinic was not registered. One of his patients raised a concern with the General Medical Council in June 2019, and Leicestershire Police made a crime report a month later.
The MPTS hearing determined that Dr Ali had misled vulnerable cancer patients into paying substantial sums for non-evidence-based treatment, practised without a licence, used unsafe and unhygienic premises, failed to obtain informed consent, failed to provide adequate information about treatment risks and side effects, failed to keep adequate records, and in Patient A’s case caused a delay in obtaining appropriate evidence-based treatment. He exploited the trust inherent in his position as a registered doctor, falsely advertised cancer cures, misled patients about his licence status and about treatment, and used his professional standing to obtain money from vulnerable patients.
Nessa Sharkett, chair of the MPTS, said: “Dr Ali breached fundamental tenets of the profession, including honesty, integrity, patient-centred care, informed consent, safe prescribing and administration, clear record keeping and maintaining trust. The most serious sanction was necessary in this case as the only appropriate and proportionate sanction capable of fulfilling the need to protect the public and the wider public interest.” Dr Ali was struck off the medical register due to a “fundamental breach of the tenets of the profession”.
