A doctor who conducted a secret clinical trial by prescribing hay fever tablets to patients with back pain and earache has been found guilty of misconduct.

Dr Vinod Moudgil, 64, of Burdett Avenue, Raynes Park, gave the drug Fexofenadine to patients without their permission or the health authority’s knowledge.

His actions were condemned by a panel of doctors during a General Medical Council (GMC) hearing on Friday.

The panel concluded his “behaviour in prescribing Fexofenodine when it was not clinically indicated, and as part of a clinical trial before obtaining ethical approval” was a fundamental breach of good medical practice.

Patients at the Alton Practice, in Roehampton, raised the alarm after pharmacists questioned the unusual prescription of the antihistamine.

One patient, who did not wish to be named, said: “I went to Dr Moudgil with a blocked ear asking for some drops to soften the wax, but he said he had something better and gave me the tablets.

“It was unbelievable to find out what I’d actually been given.”

Dr Moudgil was suspended by Wandsworth Primary Care Trust (PCT) in May 2007 and ceased practising at the Alton Practice after an audit of drugs by the health authority showed the amount of Fexofenadine prescribed was “off the scale”.

According to the area’s chief pharmacist, Nicholas Beavon, several hundred prescriptions were issued – twice that of the next highest practice in Wandsworth.

He said patients suffering other ailments including laryngitis and neck ache had queried their prescriptions with other doctors, sparking the investigation.

On Friday, the GMC panel imposed a raft of restrictions on him including demands for retraining as a GP and a workplace reporter to monitor his practice in future employment for 18 months.

Dr Moudgil’s defence team said he had not been motivated by personal gain, and no medical harm was caused to patients.

In mitigation, it was also claimed he had been suffering from poor health and was going through stressful personal circumstances.

Dr Moudgil was removed from Wandsworth PCT’s register of practising doctors in May and no longer works for the Alton Practice.