Manchester doctor suspended after sexually harassing other staff, with one nurse accusing him of grabbing her by the throat
By Newsdesk
A doctor who grabbed an NHS nurse by the neck and sexually harassed other hospital staff has been suspended.
Dr Mubashsher Muhammed, employed in the A&E department of Stepping Hill Hospital, faced a tribunal following a referral by the UK’s medical regulatory body, the General Medical Council. The council reprimanded him for engaging in ‘deplorable sexual harassment’ directed at two fellow colleagues.
He claimed that it was just “banter” and that he is a “tactile individual” who wanted to “fit in”. Both nurses say he treated their requests for him to stop as jokes.
The incidents occurred in April 2021. During one of these instances, the doctor allegedly instructed a colleague, identified as Nurse A by the medical practitioners tribunal, to “lower your mask so I can observe your facial features”. The doctor refuted that he ever used such words.
He also engaged in a pattern of behaviour where he repeatedly made contact with the face covering of another coworker, identified at Nurse B as per the information presented during the tribunal.
Allegedly, he also engaged in inappropriate actions where he ‘massaged her shoulders’, ‘tickled her waist’ and pinched her’, as stated by the nurse. Rather than heeding Nurse B’s plea for him to stop, he responded to her request by laughing.
During what is described as a “frightening ordeal”, Dr Muhammed cornered Nurse A and “blocked” her going to the female staff changing room. He “placed his hand on the front of her throat”, “tightened his grip around her neck”, “kept her backed up against the wall”, and questioned “when are you going to give in and give me your number?”, according to the report from the tribunal which reviewed the case, ending July 26, 2023.
Dr Muhammed vehemently refuted the occurrence of this incident in both his written testimony and spoken statements. However, the medical tribunal panel concluded that the incident had been substantiated, resulting in a nine-month suspension for him due to his actions being deemed ‘sexually motivated’ in nature.
The tribunal found: “Dr Muhammed’s behaviour towards both nurses amounts to sexual harassment. He created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating and offensive environment for them to work in.
“Dr Muhammed treated both nurses’ requests to stop as a joke, he did not stop and both nurses complained to the trust.”
In a written statement to the tribunal, he apologised for engaging in ‘unwelcome interactions’, and that he had ‘misjudged the position’. He added that he recognised, with the benefit of hindsight, that his actions were wrong.
A spokesperson for Stockport NHS Foundation Trust which runs Stepping Hill – where the doctor from February to April 2021, the time of the incidents – said, “We do not tolerate sexual harassment, and we take all allegations of such harassment extremely seriously. Dr Mohammed was employed by a locum agency and briefly worked on our hospital site.
“Following these allegations we made sure that the General Medical Council and the responsible officer at the locum agency were made aware. No further shifts were given to him at this hospital afterwards.”
Serving him with a nine-month suspension, the report slammed the doctor by saying: “This was conduct that any professional would know was wholly unacceptable. More than that, it could readily be described as deplorable…
“The incident outside the changing rooms was especially shocking. He caused Nurse A to be frightened.
“She was obviously vulnerable and feared the consequences of raising a complaint. He had seriously undermined the reputation of the medical profession as a whole.”
In another issued by Medical Protection Society representatives, Dr Muhammed said, “I am disappointed with the tribunal’s findings and will be taking time to reflect on the outcome and consider my options.”
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