Race row doc in compensation bid

Dr Awotona quit her job in South Tyneside in May

A doctor who fought a six-year battle to win her job back after being unfairly sacked, was seeking compensation at a tribunal on Monday.

Consultant obstetrician Feyi Awotona, from Newcastle, was sacked from South Tyneside District Hospital in 1998.

South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust was ordered to reinstate her to her £68,000 a year role after a tribunal ruled that she had suffered racial discrimination.

But after delays in taking up her post Dr Awotona, 50, quit her job in May.

On Monday she was launching a legal bid to win compensation at a tribunal in Newcastle.

The consultant's solicitor, Jane Jelly, claimed the NHS Trust had already spent more than £850,000 fighting the case.

Racial discrimination

Ms Kelly, of legal firm Hunt Kidd, said: "This case has been unnecessarily drawn out for almost seven years at great expense to the tax payer. As a result the NHS trust has lost an excellent and experienced doctor.

"This case also draws attention to the concern that racial discrimination still widely exists within the NHS and is very difficult for those from ethnic minorities to reach senior positions."

The trust has expressed its "surprise and disappointment" at Dr Awotona's decision to quit.

A spokesman said colleagues had done their best to welcome the consultant back to the hospital.

The trust has already been ordered to pay Dr Awotona nearly £150,000 in loss of earnings.