![]() “ said there was no relationship of trust between a consultant and a junior doctor, because the difference in age isn’t that much. They have said, ‘Well, it’s totally understandable, you gave them no indication. They take statements from the witnesses and their names. They don’t actually try and find out the truth. In its final ruling, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), a statutory committee of the GMC, found there was no case to answer, as it could not be proven that Dr Ash hadn’t given consent.ĭr Ash told The Independent: “The GMC is pushing pieces of paper around. This was just prior to the pandemic, and it has taken three years for the case to be investigated and to conclude. Dr Ash, whose name has been changed, said she was sexually assaulted by a senior male consultant when she was a trainee.ĭr Ash said she didn’t feel she could report the consultant at the time, but referred him to the GMC after an encounter at an event years later. One doctor told The Independent of her experience referring another doctor to the GMC following a sexual assault. However, data shows that only 45 per cent of sexual assault allegations are closed and not investigated compared to 85 per cent of cases overall. Last year the NMC published stronger guidance for those making decisions in such cases – in particular, decisions over their seriousness.įigures shared by the General Medical Council (GMC) show that more than 500 sexual assault complaints to the doctors’ regulator were dropped between 20. Ms Maslen said decisions made by the NMC are reviewed by the Professional Standards Authority, but that the council is always aiming to improve and will reflect on the cases highlighted. Our data shows that anyone on our register who is found to have proven allegations of sexual misconduct is highly likely to be struck off.” We know this disproportionately affects women, who make up the majority of professionals on our register. ![]() Lesley Maslen, executive director of professional regulation at the NMC, said: “There is no place for sexual and domestic abuse in society. However, data shared by the NMC shows that the rate at which sexual assault allegations are progressed to investigation is far higher compared with allegations in general. She added: “In my opinion, are enormously at risk because of the way addressing domestic violence and assault.” Nurse Kat Barber, who carried out the study, said there was a “massive misunderstanding” of the context of gender-based violence by the regulator. ![]() In another case, a nurse who had been placed on the register of sex offenders for groping a taxi driver while drunk was given a four-month suspension as the panel considered it a “lower-end” sexual assault. In one case, a nurse convicted of and imprisoned for actual bodily harm against his wife was allowed to produce a “good character statement” during a hearing and was allowed to rejoin the nursing register without restrictions. We need a public inquiry into sexism, sexual harassment and sexual assault in healthcare.”Ī study of fitness-to-practice hearings by the NMC, shared with The Independent, has found multiple cases in which nurses were prosecuted by the police for domestic violence or sexual assault but faced minimal repercussions under the nursing regulator. “Victims find their cases ignored or dropped without good reason, and perpetrators being able to continue working without repercussions. ![]() “As an organisation, we have had multiple healthcare professionals contacting us desperate to seek support after facing repeated barriers when trying to report harassment and assault to their employing NHS organisation and regulators such as the GMC. Have you been impacted by this story? email ĭr Rebecca Cox, who helped sparked a major #MeToo movement in medicine and is co-founder of the Surviving in Scrubs campaign group, told The Independent: “There are great similarities, in the recent cases of prolific sexual harassment and assault, between the Met Police and the NHS.
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