EXCL: Married Dr who sexually harassed nurses mentioned he was a ‘tactile particular person’
A physician who held an NHS nurse by the throat and demanded her cellphone quantity has been suspended.
Dr Mubashsher Muhammed, who labored at an A&E unit in Stockport, was scolded for his ‘deplorable’ sexual harassment of two colleagues.
The incidents, which passed off in early 2021, concerned telling one to take away their masks to ‘see their face’ and repeatedly touching the face masking of the opposite, in addition to inappropriate ‘massaging’ and pinching.
However essentially the most severe incident concerned a ‘horrifying ordeal’, the place the married Dr Muhammed encountered one of many nurses alone close to the feminine workers altering room.
He positioned his hand on her throat and stored her backed up towards a wall whereas stating, ‘when are you going to offer in and provides me your quantity’.
Dr Mubashsher Muhammed was suspended from working as a health care provider for 9 months after sexually harassing two nurses at an NHS emergency division in Stockport
A medical tribunal panel suspended Czech-trained Dr Muhammed for 9 months for his ‘sexually motivated’ behaviour.
Dr Muhammed, who described himself as a ‘tactile particular person’, defended his actions as being consistent with a tradition of ‘banter’ on the ward, and that he had wished to ‘slot in’.
The incidents with each nurses occurred in April 2021 on the Stepping Hill Hospital’s emergency division, a part of Stockport NHS Basis Belief.
Dr Muhammed had been employed briefly on the belief to assist shore up workers numbers.
One of many nurses, described within the tribunal paperwork as ‘Nurse A’, advised of her sense of ‘dread’ at seeing Dr Muhammed within the workers altering rooms simply earlier than the throat-grabbing incident.
In a written assertion she added: ‘As I continued in the direction of the feminine altering room, he stood in entrance of me and positioned his hand round my throat, my again was towards the wall at this level.
‘I recoiled, he didn’t, and together with his hand nonetheless round my throat mentioned, “when are you going to offer in and provides me your quantity”.’
She added how the incident had left her surprised and shaken.
Nurse A additionally described how she knew she ought to report the incident however waited three months resulting from a concern that she wouldn’t be believed and that doing so would ‘trigger her hassle’ professionally.
The tribunal accepted the very fact the incident had occurred however added that it was an ‘opportunistic’ occasion, somewhat than premeditated plan on Dr Muhammed’s half.
‘Nurse B’ additionally detailed her personal comparable run-ins with Dr Muhammed, together with how he had massaged her shoulders, pinched her waist, in addition to laughed at her requests for him to cease.
She recounted how even mentioning Dr Muhammed’s spouse was not sufficient to cease the inappropriate touching.
Dr Muhammed, in his defence, claimed Nurse B’s claims had been fabricated by her after he rebuffed her advances. However the declare was deemed ‘unlikely’ by the tribunal.
The tribunal additionally highlighted how the each nurses had advised Dr Muhammed to cease the behaviour however he had handled the requests as a joke.
Each nurses, nonetheless, did acknowledge there was a tradition of ‘banter’ on the ward.
The tribunal mentioned, whereas not commenting if such a ‘banter’ office tradition was applicable or not, Dr Muhammed could have been ’emboldened’ by it.
Dr Muhammed stopped working for the Belief as soon as the nurses raised the alarm about his behaviour.
In a written assertion, he apologised for participating in behaviour that led to the discomfort of his colleagues, and that he had overstepped the mark.
He added that he recognised, with the advantage of hindsight, that his actions have been fallacious.
In a single ‘horrifying incident’ at Stepping Hill Hospital (pictured) the married Dr Muhammed held the throat of a nurse and demanded her cellphone quantity
The UK’s medical regulator the Basic Medical Council (GMC), who introduced the case towards Dr Muhammed, argued {that a} non permanent suspension from their register, successfully banning him from working as a health care provider, was essentially the most applicable motion.
A GMC consultant argued Dr Muhammed had subjected one of many nurses to a ‘horrifying ordeal outdoors the altering room’ and his behaviour amounted to severe misconduct.
However Dr Muhammed’s consultant argued that the incident was a ‘short-lived’ and ‘remoted incident’ the place Nurse A had suffered no bodily damage.
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His defence additionally mentioned Dr Muhammed had since attended programs on ‘skilled boundaries’.
In a reflective piece submitted to the tribunal, Dr Muhammed wrote: ‘Iwill instantly restrict the contact to scientific solely and avoiding any type of banter, feedback on others look and any type of undesirable contact.’
Dr Muhammed additionally described himself as a ‘tactile particular person’ however vowed to solely reassure colleagues verbally and never by way of contact sooner or later.
His consultant added that no sufferers had been sexually harassed and Dr Muhammed did not contact the nurses’ breasts or ‘beneath their waist’, making it the ‘decrease finish of the dimensions of seriousness of sexual misconduct’.
He additionally urged the tribunal to contemplate the very fact Dr Muhammed was the principle breadwinner of his household when figuring out the sanction.
Of their ruling, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service slammed Dr Muhammed’s behaviour.
‘This was conduct that any skilled would know was wholly unacceptable,’ they wrote.
‘Greater than that, it might readily be described as deplorable.’
However the tribunal famous that his behaviour, whereas severe, solely occurred throughout a two-month interval.
In addition they pointed to 53 testimonials from colleagues, the vast majority of them feminine, talking positively of his character.
The tribunal additionally mentioned that Dr Muhammed, whereas the case had been ongoing, had continued to work as a health care provider for 2 years with none additional incidents.
In addition they thought-about the very fact this sexual harassment had concerned no contact with the nurses’ ‘sexual components’, his attendance on a sustaining boundaries course, and of depriving the general public of a ‘good physician’ of their determination.
Nevertheless, they added this didn’t detract from the seriousness of the behaviour described.
‘The incident outdoors the altering rooms was particularly surprising,’ they wrote. ‘He precipitated Nurse A to be frightened.
‘She was clearly weak and feared the implications of elevating a grievance.
‘He had significantly undermined the fame of the medical occupation as a complete.’
Describing their determination as ‘finely balanced between suspension and erasure’, they opted for the previous.
The tribunal mentioned the suspension would talk the seriousness of the misconduct to each him and the broader occupation in addition to give the medic time for added perception into his actions.
He has 28 days from the ruling to enchantment the choice.
Dr Muhammed advised MailOnline by way of his representatives, the Medical Safety Society, that: ‘I’m disenchanted with the tribunal’s findings and will likely be taking time to replicate on the end result and think about my choices.’
Stockport NHS Basis Belief mentioned: ‘We don’t tolerate sexual harassment, and we take all allegations of such harassment extraordinarily significantly.’
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Basis Belief, the place Dr Muhammed has been working since 2019, advised this web site he now not works there.