Doctor struck off for sexual harassment of three hospital nurses
A DOCTOR who sexually harassed nurses while working as a locum at two Scottish hospitals has been struck off the medical register.
Dr Richard Mbamali told a nurse at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, to ‘lift up her skirt’.
And while at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, he commented on another nurse’s ‘tanned, lean physique’.
Dr Mbamali, a locum junior doctor, was dismissed from both posts but did not disclose this on taking up subsequent employment at Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire.
Yesterday the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service [MPTS] published its findings and struck him off the medical register for misconduct. In a statement, it said: ‘In the circumstances, the tribunal determined that the only appropriate sanction in this case was one of erasure. Dr Mbamali’s misconduct breached the fundamental tenets of the medical profession. Dr Mbamali had repeated his sexually motivated conduct.’
The MPTS hearing in Manchester heard that in April 2018, at the geriatric unit at ARI, he made comments about a student nurse, including telling a patient: ‘Isn’t she beautiful?’ Dr Mbamali went on to comment on her ‘tanned, lean physique’.
The student nurse, known as Nurse A, had ‘never felt so uncomfortable’. Dr Mbamali then put his hands around Nurse A’s neck and held her tightly ‘for about a minute’, leaving bruising on her neck.
Three months later, while working at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, it is claimed he called Nurse B ‘beautiful’ and started talking about a forthcoming summer ceilidh. The hearing heard claims he said: ‘If he lifted up his kilt she would lift up her skirt to show him.’
Nurse B said she felt ‘annoyed, uncomfortable and concerned by his full-on behaviour’, the hearing heard.
The GMC opened an investigation, but he did not disclose his past to his new employer, Broadmoor Hospital. His previous actions only came to light after he behaved inappropriately to another col
‘Sexually motivated’
league, Nurse C, during a night out at a pub in May 2019.
The MPTS statement added: ‘The tribunal also considered the impact that Dr Mbamali’s actions had on Nurse A, Nurse B and Nurse C. It noted all three nurses had suffered from Dr Mbamali’s sexually motivated behaviour.’
Dr Mbamali was not present at the hearing. But in response to the General Medical Council probe into his conduct, he said he was ‘absolutely devastated’ to have been referred for investigation and claimed he had been ‘desperately searching for emotional support, but clearly did not go about this in an appropriate manner’.