TRIBUNAL VERDICT Doc groped patient’s breasts in hospital
Medical panel will determine action against him
A doctor groped a patient’s breasts after she was admitted to hospital with chest pains, a tribunal has ruled.
Dr Syed Tauqeer Bukhari was found to have carried out “sexually motivated” examinations of the woman at Wishaw General Hospital on two occasions.
The doctor, who practised at the NHS Lanarkshire hospital, was found to have lifted her top without her consent in July 2013. He also touched her groin area.
Following a lengthy hearing at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), a series of charges against Dr Bukhari, 35, were found proven.
The woman, who has been identified only as Patient A and was in her 20s at the time, said his examinations had left her feeling “uncomfortable.”
Her accusations led to criminal charges of sexual assault being brought against Dr Bukhari but the case against him was found not proven at Hamilton Sheriff Court in May 2015.
The MPTS requires a different burden of proof than in criminal cases and on Wednesday the three-person panel in Manchester said the woman’s account was credible.
The doctor had claimed he was conducting a clinical examination on the patient, who was wearing pyjamas.
She had attended A&E on July 24, 2013, and Dr Bukhari examined her alone on the day she was admitted and against the following day.
On both occasions, the General Medical Council (GMC) case presenter said he touched her breasts for long periods of time.
During the first examination he also touched her groin area and on both occasions he examined her alone with curtains around her bed closed.
In written evidence given to the hearing, Patient A said: “Dr Bukhari asked me to sit back and then proceeded to lift up my pyjama top exposing my breasts.
“Dr Bukhari then moved his hands from the centre of my chest and proceeded to cup both my breasts with his hands and moved his hands in a circular motion.
“It felt as though Dr Bukhari was massaging them.”
Appearing before the panel via video link, Patient A said she gave him a fake email address after he asked for her contact details.
She also told the panel that as Dr Bukhari was leaving her bedside, he shook her hand and said: “We’ll be friends forever.”
Patient A reported Dr Bukhari’s behaviour to a nurse at the hospital, who told the tribunal it took 40 minutes for the patient to tell her story as she was so upset.
In its ruling, the MPTS panel said: “This examination lasted for a sustained period of time. The examination on July 25 involved three separate touching of Patient A’s breasts.
“The tribunal has already found that there was no clinical reason for touching Patient A in those intimate parts.
“It is of the view that the touching of those intimate parts is an intrinsically sexual act and therefore find that your actions were sexually motivated.”
The GMC said Dr Bukhari had “targeted” Patient A for non-medical reasons as she was not assigned to him as a patient.
He denied his actions were sexually motivated but he was given a first and final written warning as a result of the complaint.
Further charges that Dr Bukhari had misled colleagues at NHS Highland about the nature of the claims made against him were also found proven.
Dr Bukhari qualified in Pakistan before moving to Scotland with his wife in 2010.
The MPTS , which has the power to strike off doctors from the medical register, will now consider what sanction to take against him.