Doctor investigated over claims he ‘shook and slapped patient in the face’

AN A&E doctor is being investigated over allegations he said “that felt good” after shaking and slapping a patient across the face during treatment.

Dr Ziyad Al-janabi, a specialist medic, was working in the emergency department at University Hospital Ayr when the alleged incident took place in May 2020.

It is now up to an expert panel at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) to determine what happened and whether Dr Al-janabi’s fitness to practise is impaired.

The tribunal is considering a number of claims against Dr Al-janabi, including the allegation that he held and “shook Patient A’s head and/or shoulders” and “inappropriately shouted at Patient A” during a consultation on May 23 2020.

He is also alleged to have “slapped” the man on his cheek before saying “that felt good”.

Dr Al-janabi – who studied medicine at Glasgow University and graduated in 2002 – has admitted to saying “that felt good”, but the remaining allegations are still being investigated.

Disciplinary hearings got under way yesterday in Manchester, where the MPTS is headquartered, and are expected to continue until December 7.

It is up to the MPTS to rule on whether a Uk-registered doctor’s fitness to practise is impaired and, if so, how they should be sanctioned.

In the worst cases, it can erase doctors from the medical register – meaning they can no longer practise in the UK – but lesser options include suspension or a supervision order.

The MPTS considers evidence about alleged misconduct by doctors brought by the General Medical Council (GMC) – the regulatory body for doctors.

The MPTS service was founded in 2012, following the Shipman Inquiry, to provide a fitness to practise adjudication body which would be independent of the GMC.