A doctor found to have been unfairly dismissed from a South London hospital after a patient accused him of making her remove her bra unnecessarily is facing a new hearing. Dr Neill Garrard won an employment tribunal against Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust in January, after a judge ruled an investigation the trust carried out into alleged sexual misconduct that resulted in him being sacked was flawed.
In December 2024, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), which deals with complaints about doctors, cleared him of two allegations of sexual misconduct, including the incident alleged by a patient at Lewisham Hospital.
But Dr Garrard now faces another MPTS tribunal after a High Court judge quashed the December MPTS tribunal's decision, saying the panel had wrongly interpreted the law. It comes after the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSAH)—a body tasked with promoting the health and safety of patients—appealed the MPTS's decision that Dr Garrard could continue working.
The alleged incident involving Dr Garrard at Lewisham Hospital was reported by a patient in December 2021. The patient claimed the doctor made her take off her bra for a blood pressure test and made her drop her pants and trousers without explanation during a consultation.
Dr Garrard had received a separate complaint of sexual misconduct from a patient while working at another hospital in Hampshire in March 2021. The allegation was investigated internally by the hospital and by police but neither decided there was enough evidence to take further action.
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust dismissed Dr Garrard in December 2022, following its own investigation into the alleged incident at Lewisham Hospital. After unsuccessfully appealing the decision, Dr Garrard took the hospital trust to an employment tribunal.
The tribunal found serious flaws in the trust's investigation, which was carried out by Sophie Gayle, Associate Director of Corporate Affairs. According to the tribunal, Ms Gayle made an error in the investigation, which she used to justify Dr Garrard's dismissal.
She also failed to speak to other members of staff on duty at the time who may have spoken to the patient who made the allegations, the tribunal said. It ruled that the investigation was 'not reasonable' and concluded that any decision informed by it was 'liable to be unfair'.
A new MPTS tribunal will be held at a yet-to-be-confirmed later date. Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust said it was unable comment on ongoing legal cases.
Got a story? Email robert.firth@reachplc.com
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