Doctors accused of rape, sexual assault and harassment have been allowed to return to practice in the NHS after receiving what campaigners describe as unduly lenient sanctions.
New research published this week shows that more than a third of doctors facing tribunals for sexual misconduct in 2023–24 were given short suspensions rather than being struck off the medical register. Critics warn the system is failing to protect patients and staff, while survivors of abuse say they feel “utterly worthless” after years of reporting misconduct.
A System That Protects Perpetrators, Not Patients
The findings come amid growing concern over the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), which oversees hearings into doctors’ fitness to practise. The General Medical Council (GMC) has repeatedly been forced to challenge tribunal decisions in court after sanctions against alleged sexual predators were deemed too lenient.
In one case, a doctor accused of rape was suspended for 12 months after a tribunal described the offence as a “one-off”. In another, a surgeon who harassed colleagues for over a decade was allowed to return to work after only a year-long suspension.
Campaigners say the consequences for victims are devastating. One woman, who came forward against surgeon James Gilbert, said:
“I feel utterly worthless and utterly let down by a system that should be protecting us and the public. The reason we pursued this for so many years was to protect others coming up behind us, and all that sacrifice feels wasted.”
Campaigners Call for Urgent Reform
The Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery (WPSMS) said the current process “fails staff, fails patients, and fails to guarantee safe care”. Surgeons Tamzin Cuming and Carrie Newlands, speaking on behalf of WPSMS, warned that without reform “powerful perpetrators will continue with impunity” and victims will remain silent for fear of career-ending reprisals.
Lead researcher Mei Nortley, a consultant vascular surgeon, added:
“Allowing rapists, sexual predators and those who use manipulation and coercion to return as practising doctors brings the integrity of the entire system into question.”
A Pattern of Leniency
Between August 2023 and August 2024, tribunals heard 222 cases involving doctors. Fifty-five related to sexual misconduct, yet only cases involving children resulted in erasure. In 35 per cent of cases where the GMC called for doctors to be struck off, the tribunal reduced the sanction to suspension instead.
The GMC is now appealing multiple decisions, including one where a tribunal appeared to accept a “victim-blaming narrative” in a rape case. Other examples include:
- Dr Cian Hughes: engaged in a sexual relationship with a teenage patient. GMC sought erasure, tribunal imposed suspension.
- Dr Neil Gerrard: accused of sexual misconduct with patients. GMC successfully challenged an MPTS ruling.
- Dr Kausik Ray: convicted of sexual assault in 2022, yet given a 12-month suspension in 2024.
What Happens Next
The MPTS has pledged to publish new guidance to ensure “consistent and well-reasoned” decisions, but campaigners argue it is not enough. Calls are growing for systemic reform to ensure perpetrators face erasure and patients’ trust in the profession is restored.
Until then, survivors say they remain silenced, their careers endangered, and public safety put at risk by a system designed to protect the very people accused of abuse.
