A West London doctor has been struck off for the second time after stealing medication and attempting to cover up the incident.
The doctor admitted all allegations made against him and will not be allowed to practise medicine in the UK.
In February 2023, Dr Babatunde Aranmolate removed medication from a locked cupboard at Hillingdon Hospital without authorisation. Four days later, he gave these drugs to a close personal contact, Ms A, who was not a patient and did not require emergency treatment.
He also took medication prescribed to another patient, including Co-amoxiclav, a drug used to treat bacterial infections. Eight months later, Dr Aranmolate pressured two co-workers to give false statements claiming that the incident had been discussed and he had been given a verbal warning – neither occurred.
He asked one of the doctors, Ms E, to prepare a report for the GMC (General Medical Council) confirming these discussions had taken place. He also indicated to her that he had already notified the GMC that she would write a statement to confirm these false statements as true.
Dr Aranmolate went as far as to draft an email report for another doctor to send to the GMC. Then, in July 2024, when interviewed by a senior clinician about the incident, he continued his attempt to cover it up.
Lies told by Dr Aranmolate about the storage of the stolen medication led to NHS England embarking upon an enquiry as to whether the medication was stored correctly. This was unnecessary and a direct result of falsehoods told by the doctor, a tribunal heard.
In subsequent months, the doctor continued to play down and attempt to cover up the incident at appraisals and in conversations with colleagues. However, in March 2025, ahead of his tribunal, he admitted full misconduct and finally began showing efforts at remediation, including seeking psychiatric advice.
During the proceedings, the tribunal found Dr Aranmolate’s fitness to practise to be “impaired” due to serious misconduct and multiple acts of dishonesty. The tribunal ordered his immediate erasure from the medical register and an immediate suspension.
However, this was not the first time Dr Aranmolate had been suspended. Between 1999 and 2006, he had a series of misconduct findings, including false claims, dishonesty, and breach of suspension.
This led to his erasure from the medical register in 2009. However, he was restored to the register in 2017 having displayed “significant efforts” to rehabilitate himself since then.
The tribunal found his recent attempt at a cover-up “reflected a level of sophistication comparable to that which he adopted in seeking to deceive Dr N in relation to Patient K’s report about him in 2006”.
The tribunal considered a risk of repetition and immediately struck Dr Aranmolate off the register “to protect the public”.
A Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “Our role as a healthcare provider is to ensure all healthcare professionals working within our organisation adhere to the highest standards of professional conduct and patient safety. When these standards are not followed, we have a duty to act decisively and swiftly in the interest of our patients.”
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