In the dock Brit Indian physician fondled patient’s breasts, groped others

LONDON - Brit Indian general physician Dr. Parag Bhatt faces being struck off by the General Medical Council on charges of serious misconduct after it was revealed that he fondled the breasts of six patients and groped others over a five-month period while working as a GP in Rotherham.

According to the Daily Mail, a disciplinary hearing was told that one of the patients was a 16-year-old girl, while another had only gone to see him with a broken finger.

Bhatt was found to be sexually motivated and that in all but one case there was no clinical need to examine their chests.

The disgraced practitioner, who was cleared by a jury following a criminal trial in 2009, attacked his patients between January and September 2007.

In some cases, he failed to explain why the examinations were necessary while in others he did not even seek their consent, the General Medical Council heard.

A disciplinary panel, sitting in London, concluded he was guilty of serious professional misconduct.

It concluded: ‘We have found your actions to be sexually motivated in relation to four patients, and not clinically indicated and inappropriate in relation to five patients.

‘You failed to provide adequate explanations to all six of the patients in this case. ‘Your conduct was a serious departure from the standards expected of a registered medical practitioner in a number of important areas.

‘Most seriously, your sexually motivated examinations were a gross abuse of your patients and the trust they placed in you.’

The panel concluded Bhatt presented ‘a risk to patients’.

Despite this he has not been suspended from practising and must observe strict conditions if he does so.

During his trial at Sheffield Crown Court last year Bhatt maintained he only carried out legitimate medical examinations.

He denied any sexual motivation. The General Medical Council is expected to decide his fate later today. (ANI)