Post by Handyman on Mar 17, 2024 16:15:53 GMT
According to a report in the Mail on Sunday the NHS has a serious problem of Sexual Offences and Rape by Nursing Staff and Doctors
Health workers have claimed that while the NHS is awash with hundreds of sexual predators, a culture of silence sees most of them go unpunished.
Just 36 disgraced doctors have been struck off in the past year for sexual misconduct, despite serious accusations levelled at hundreds of staff.
Healthcare workers told MailOnline there was a silent abuse epidemic and accused NHS bosses of 'silencing, slut-shaming and gaslighting' victims.
Branding sexual misconduct in the NHS an 'open secret', orthopaedic surgeon Simon Fleming said: 'The number of doctors being struck off is not even the tip of the iceberg - they're the tip of the tip.
'Healthcare has a problem with sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape. It is an uncomfortable truth, but the truth nonetheless.'
Fleur Curtis, 44, was forced to quit her job as a physician associate at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust after being sexually assaulted by a house docto
Salman Siddiqi a Doctor arranged to meet an underage boy for sex on the grounds of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent
Dr Robert Varnam, a GP and former NHS England director, was convicted of downloading child porn
Romanian doctor Iuliu Stan was struck off this month after subjecting patients to intimate procedures they did not need for sexual kicks
NHS psychiatrist Jamal Hilal, a Sudanese doctor based in Newcastle, massaged a junior member of staff's breasts in an 'unnecessary and inappropriate' medical examination
An investigation by the British Medical Journal revealed how 35,606 'sexual safety incidents' were recorded by NHS hospitals in England in five years, ranging from abusive remarks to rape allegedly perpetrated by staff, patients and visitors.
More than 4,000 hospital staff were accused of sexual misconduct in the five years to 2022, the statistics show, but just 576 faced internal disciplinary action. The NHS claimed this figure included repeat offenders and non-NHS staff but refused to provide any proof.
Fewer still were referred to the regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC), to face fitness to practise hearings, which could see them struck off by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS).
In the five years to March 2023, GMC received 526 complaints of sexual assault involving patients and staff.
But of 233 completed investigations, just a handful of doctors were struck off.
Since 2020, only 87 doctors have been banned for sexual misconduct - 12 in 2020, 16 in 2021, 23 in 2022 and another 36 in the 12 months to February this year. The figures include doctors working in private capacities.
The recent surge came after the GMC vowed to crack down with 'zero tolerance'.
However, Dr Fleming said: 'The GMC is working to change how they handle these issues but current systems are still inadequate and not fit for purpose.
'Doctors openly talk about the fear of repercussions if they report predators - the NHS has a long way to go to create a culture of sexual safety for its staff and its patients.
'Sadly silencing, slut-shaming and gaslighting is the way things currently play out in the NHS.'
Fleur Curtis, 44, was forced to quit her job as a physician associate at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust after being sexually assaulted by a house doctor.
She was groped at work by specialist registrar Mahendar Katarapu, 44, and endured panic attacks and post-traumatic stress as a result of the Trust's inaction.
The doctor, branded 'creepy' by colleagues, was reported to bosses but Fleur was allegedly told: 'Suspensions are bad for doctors' careers'.
Health workers have claimed that while the NHS is awash with hundreds of sexual predators, a culture of silence sees most of them go unpunished.
Just 36 disgraced doctors have been struck off in the past year for sexual misconduct, despite serious accusations levelled at hundreds of staff.
Healthcare workers told MailOnline there was a silent abuse epidemic and accused NHS bosses of 'silencing, slut-shaming and gaslighting' victims.
Branding sexual misconduct in the NHS an 'open secret', orthopaedic surgeon Simon Fleming said: 'The number of doctors being struck off is not even the tip of the iceberg - they're the tip of the tip.
'Healthcare has a problem with sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape. It is an uncomfortable truth, but the truth nonetheless.'
Fleur Curtis, 44, was forced to quit her job as a physician associate at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust after being sexually assaulted by a house docto
Salman Siddiqi a Doctor arranged to meet an underage boy for sex on the grounds of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent
Dr Robert Varnam, a GP and former NHS England director, was convicted of downloading child porn
Romanian doctor Iuliu Stan was struck off this month after subjecting patients to intimate procedures they did not need for sexual kicks
NHS psychiatrist Jamal Hilal, a Sudanese doctor based in Newcastle, massaged a junior member of staff's breasts in an 'unnecessary and inappropriate' medical examination
An investigation by the British Medical Journal revealed how 35,606 'sexual safety incidents' were recorded by NHS hospitals in England in five years, ranging from abusive remarks to rape allegedly perpetrated by staff, patients and visitors.
More than 4,000 hospital staff were accused of sexual misconduct in the five years to 2022, the statistics show, but just 576 faced internal disciplinary action. The NHS claimed this figure included repeat offenders and non-NHS staff but refused to provide any proof.
Fewer still were referred to the regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC), to face fitness to practise hearings, which could see them struck off by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS).
In the five years to March 2023, GMC received 526 complaints of sexual assault involving patients and staff.
But of 233 completed investigations, just a handful of doctors were struck off.
Since 2020, only 87 doctors have been banned for sexual misconduct - 12 in 2020, 16 in 2021, 23 in 2022 and another 36 in the 12 months to February this year. The figures include doctors working in private capacities.
The recent surge came after the GMC vowed to crack down with 'zero tolerance'.
However, Dr Fleming said: 'The GMC is working to change how they handle these issues but current systems are still inadequate and not fit for purpose.
'Doctors openly talk about the fear of repercussions if they report predators - the NHS has a long way to go to create a culture of sexual safety for its staff and its patients.
'Sadly silencing, slut-shaming and gaslighting is the way things currently play out in the NHS.'
Fleur Curtis, 44, was forced to quit her job as a physician associate at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust after being sexually assaulted by a house doctor.
She was groped at work by specialist registrar Mahendar Katarapu, 44, and endured panic attacks and post-traumatic stress as a result of the Trust's inaction.
The doctor, branded 'creepy' by colleagues, was reported to bosses but Fleur was allegedly told: 'Suspensions are bad for doctors' careers'.
