A doctor who falsified medical records to get a bigger payout from the NHS has been struck off to "protect patients".

Dr Nigel Ostrowski manipulated medical histories to claim inflated payments 16 times, a medical tribunal found.

The former senior partner at Bangholm Medical Centre in Edinburgh stepped down when actions came to light and he will now been struck from the medical register.

NHS Scotland's anti-fraud team carried out an investigation into the GP in 2014 and submitted a report to the procurator fiscal. It decided not to proceed with the case.

A Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) panel said he had "abused the system" between 2010 and 2011 and "brought the medical profession into disrepute" by "placing patients at risk".

They reported: "Dr Ostrowski falsified numerous patient records to suggest that parameters had been met allowing him to claim an inflated payment on behalf of the practice.

"Further, as Dr Ostrowski was a partner at the practice, he would have personally gained from the claims he had submitted."

The MPTS said the GP had "put his own financial gain before the wellbeing, treatment and health of the practice's patients".

The panel noted there is "no evidence" that Dr Ostrowski "regrets his actions or that he has made any efforts to remediate his behaviour".

They concluded: "The tribunal has taken into account the public interest, which includes the need to protect patients and the public."

Dr Ostrowski was found to have made the false claims through the Quality and Outcomes Framework, which was designed to reward medical practices for providing high quality care.

The scheme was scrapped by NHS Scotland last year.