Patient ‘trusted’ doctor accused of groping her
A WOMAN who claims she was groped by a married doctor after going to hospital with chest pain yesterday said she had trusted him and assumed ‘he was doing what he had to do’.
The woman, known only as Patient A, was intimately examined by Dr Syed Tauqeer Bukhari on two separate occasions without her consent or a chaperone present, a medical tribunal heard.
Giving evidence at the hearing in Manchester, Patient A said: ‘He lifted my pyjama top so my breasts were exposed. He never asked for my permission to do that.’
She also told the hearing how the doctor began examining her legs after she told him she was experiencing swelling from the knee down. Instead of checking over the area she told him, Patient A said she felt the doctor’s hands touch her pubic area.
The doctor, originally from Pakistan, moved to the UK in September 2010 with his wife, who was a student, and began practising at Wishaw General Hospital, Lanarkshire. Patient A was admitted to a ward from A&E on July 24, 2013, as she was complaining of chest pain and heart palpitations.
At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing, the patient gave evidence over a TV monitor, with the doctor behind screens. She said: ‘I told Dr Bukhari about chest pain I was experiencing, it was really severe and causing my heart rate to rise rapidly.
‘I was wearing pyjama shorts that were very loose, I was wearing boxer short-style underwear. I felt Dr Bukhari’s hands touch my pubic area. It was my skin he touched, underneath my clothing.
‘I noticed through the gap in the curtain that a doctor walked past and Dr Bukhari then did something.
‘The covers were off my legs and he threw them on top of my legs and said he would
‘I was tearful and upset’
come back later. It felt like he did that because of the passing doctor.
‘The following day I was wearing my pyjamas with no bra on. He lifted my pyjama top so my breasts were exposed. He never asked for my permission to do that. That was the same as the day before. I felt very uncomfortable and nervous.’
She added: ‘I was quite tearful and upset. You just put your trust in a doctor, I assumed he was doing what he had to do.’
A police investigation took place and the doctor was charged the charges were found not proven ahead of a trial due to insufficient evidence.
The doctor admits allegations against him that after applying for a job with NHS Highland he failed to disclose information of the complaints whilst at Wishaw General Hospital.
He denies misconduct and dishonesty. The hearing continues.