Gynaecologist gets 8 years after fondling his patients
A GYNAECOLOGIST has been jailed after touching his patients during intimate exams.
Mahesh Patwardhan, 53, made one bend over while he squeezed her breasts in front of her husband. Another attempted suicide following his assaults.
Patwardhan, from Essex, assaulted victims between 2008 and 2012 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich and Blackheath Hospital in Lewisham.
The day before one victim was due to have a hysterectomy, Patwardhan did a breast exam, despite her telling him she had recently had a mammogram.
At Woolwich Crown Court Judge Alice Robinson said: “You got her to bend over and squeezed both breasts from behind.
“She was so desperate with her problems she continued to see you afterwards – with her husband there as well.” Another patient who had come for advice on a sterilisation was touched from behind by Patwardhan and said she could feel he was aroused. The lady left when Patwardhan asked her to remove her pants, and raised concerns with a nurse.
Patwardhan also planned to go ahead with an intimate operation that a patient’s insurance would not cover by putting it through as a different procedure.
Judge Robinson said: “You didn’t have the least concern that the patient could be at risk in the future because of false documentation in her medical history.”
David Etherington QC, defending, cited Patwardhan’s charity work and good character. He said: “He came to the UK [from India] and became a lead consultant at a hospital. This amounts to a total destruction of his career.”
Judge Robinson sentenced the former doctor to a total of eight years on Tuesday for the four counts of sexual assault and two of fraud, half of which will be served in custody.