Doctors guilty of sexual abuse not being struck off, study finds

Doctors who are guilty of sexual misconduct are not being appropriately sanctioned because of weak disciplinary processes, research suggests.

- Anna Bawden Health and social affairs correspondent

Nearly a quarter (24%) of doctors found guilty of sexual misconduct were handed suspensions but allowed to continue working in medicine, according to an analysis of fitness to practice tribunals by the Royal College of Surgeons. This is despite the regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC), recommending they be struck off.

The GMC investigates complaints against doctors and refers serious cases to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) to adjudicate on if they remain fit to practice.

The study analysed 222 MPTS tribunal cases from August 2023 to August 2024. Out of the 46 proven cases of sexual misconduct, the MPTS imposed the same disciplinary sanction as the GMC recommended in 35. In 11 cases, the MPTS decided to only suspend the doctor, rather than erase them from the medical register, and in no case did the MPTS impose a tougher sanction.