Latest news with #medicalmisconduct
News.com.au
30-05-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
‘Best orgasm of your life': NSW doctor massaged patient, ‘tweaked' nipples, made sexual comments
A NSW doctor inappropriately massaged a patient, groped her breasts and 'tweaked' her nipples, and made sexualised comments including that he could give her 'the best orgasm of your life' before buying her an Aldi bag of groceries to say sorry, a tribunal has found. Dr Sharwan Narayan, 45, was prosecuted by the Health Care Complaints Commission before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), which this month found him guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct. The alleged incidents occurred between February and April 2020 while Dr Narayan was working at Moruya Medical Centre on the NSW south coast. The tribunal upheld complaints that on various occasions, Dr Narayan inappropriately touched the woman, identified as 'Patient A', inappropriately hugged her and made inappropriate sexualised comments. Patient A, now 31, first came under the care of Dr Narayan in January 2020 after seriously injuring her knee from falling on gravel. She was referred to the clinic by Moruya District Hospital. When she returned to the medical centre the following month to have her dressing changed, Dr Narayan suggested massage for her knee and told her he 'used to be a masseuse in Fiji and said he would book her in so he could massage it for therapy to make sure she did not get a deep vein thrombosis (DVT)', according to the tribunal's published decision. At her next appointment on February 11, Dr Narayan removed the dressing and massaged her knee for 10 to 15 minutes. At one appointment, Patient A, who disclosed that she was a sexual assault survivor, said Dr Narayan asked her to hug him. 'She thought it was a bit strange and she was a bit shocked,' the tribunal said. 'He did this for a few minutes.' The following week, she was lying down on the treatment table when Dr Narayan removed the dressing on her knee and started massaging her leg. She told the tribunal he 'pushed her dress up and massaged further up her leg so that his hands were quite close to her pubic area'. 'Patient A said she didn't say anything, she shut down. She had learned to disassociate during trauma she had suffered as a child. The massage lasted about 10 minutes.' He then told her he would perform a skin check, asking her to pull her dress down to her waist. 'Patient A said Dr Narayan started cupping her breasts,' the tribunal said. 'He tweaked or played with her nipples even though she had not said anything about having any issue with her nipples and considered that there was no need for him to examine them without wearing gloves. He said, 'Oh they're not hard', referring to her nipples. Patient A understood him to mean that she was not aroused. She froze and made a noncommittal response or noise, just waiting for it to be over which was in less than five minutes.' At her next appointment on March 13, Dr Narayan massaged her knee again. 'As he began moving up her leg towards her inner thigh, Dr Narayan started asking her about her sex life with her partner and whether her partner was able to give her orgasms,' the tribunal said. 'She said something like, 'No of course not.' Dr Narayan then touched the outside of her vagina. When Dr Narayan finished, he kept talking about 'sexual stuff'. He said it was a shame her partner was unable to give her an orgasm. He said he'd had a discussion with a lesbian couple and had taught them how to give each other the best orgasms.' Patient A told the tribunal she was thinking, 'What the hell is going on?', and realised Dr Narayan was acting inappropriately. 'Then he said, 'I can give you the best orgasm of your life,'' she said. 'I was like, 'OK.' He again asked me for a hug and I just stood there. I then left.' When she did not show up for a pre-booked appointment for a follow-up on a scan, she received a phone call from Dr Narayan, who asked why she hadn't come in for the appointment and apologised if he had made her uncomfortable at the last appointment. Dr Narayan asked Patient A to come to Batemans Bay Hospital that evening where he was working for a free DVT scan. 'Patient A said she felt more comfortable going to the hospital than the Centre possibly because there were more people there and security guards,' the tribunal said. 'At the hospital Dr Narayan gave her big blue Aldi shopping bag and said, 'This is for you. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable or I thought I may have made you feel uncomfortable so this is for you.' In the bag was a big tub of ice cream, kombucha, Dove moisturiser and chocolates. She estimated the contents would have cost more than $50. She thanked him.' Patient A did not return to the Centre until after Dr Narayan had left the practice. Counsel for Dr Narayan argued that Patient A's evidence was 'inexact, unclear, vague, lacking in detail and internally inconsistent', and highlighted a number of conflicting statements about the timeline of the alleged events. 'We do not consider that any of these matters impact adversely on the reliability of the evidence of Patient A,' the tribunal found. 'We add that we found Patient A an impressive witness who readily conceded when she was not able to remember something. We found Patient A to be candid and truthful when describing what she said Dr Narayan had done or said to her … we prefer the evidence of Patient A to the evidence of Dr Narayan where they conflict unless there is reliable contemporaneous evidence to the contrary.' The tribunal found that Dr Narayan's conduct was 'of a very serious nature and demonstrates a significant departure from accepted standards'. 'It is sufficiently serious to justify suspension or cancellation of his registration,' NCAT said. 'In arriving at this finding we take into account the following matters as indicators of the serious nature of that conduct. The Sexual Boundaries Code's definition of breaches of sexual boundaries includes the conduct of Dr Narayan — he conducted physical examinations which were not clinically indicated, he made sexual remarks, he touched Patient A in a sexual way and he used words and acted in a way that might reasonably be interpreted as being designed or intended to arouse or gratify sexual desire.' NCAT will determine protective orders following a further stage two hearing. Dr Narayan previously worked in medical imaging for 18 years before obtaining a Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Notre Dame in 2015. He was first registered to practice as a general practitioner in 2016 and was employed as a GP registrar at the Moruya Medical Centre from February 2019 to August 2020. The Medical Council of NSW suspended his registration in September 2020 based on a separate complaint. Three other complaints brought to NCAT by the HCCC in 2023 resulted in his registration being suspended for three months. He is currently working as a general practitioner on Norfolk Island, with conditions attached to his registration.
The Guardian
19-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Senior doctor accused of failures in case that gave rise to Martha's rule
A senior doctor has been accused of wrongly failing to escalate the care of a 13-year-old girl whose death led to the adoption of Martha's rule, which gives the right to a second medical opinion in hospitals. At a disciplinary tribunal in Manchester, Prof Richard Thompson was also said to have provided a colleague with 'false and misleading information' about the condition of Martha Mills. Martha died on 31 August 2021 at King's College hospital (KCH) in south London after contracting sepsis. In 2022, a coroner ruled that she would most likely have survived if doctors had identified the warning signs of her rapidly deteriorating condition and transferred her to intensive care earlier, which her parents had asked doctors to do. Thompson, a specialist in paediatric liver disease, and the on-duty consultant – although he was on call at home – on 29 August 2021, is accused by the General Medical Council (GMC) of misconduct that impairs his fitness to practise. Opening the GMC's case at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service on Monday, Christopher Rose said, based on a review of the case by Dr Stephen Playfor, a medical examiner at Manchester Royal Infirmary, Thompson: Should have taken more 'aggressive intervention' between noon and 1pm on 29 August, including referring Martha to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Should have gone into the hospital from about 5pm to carry out an in-person assessment of a rash Martha had developed. Gave 'false, outdated and misleading information' in a phone call at approximately 9.40pm to Dr Akash Deep in the PICU team. Rose told the tribunal that during the call to Deep, Thompson gave a 'highly inaccurate description' of Martha's condition as 'stable'. He said Thompson told his colleague that Martha's systolic blood pressure was at 100mmHg when it had been below that level since 2pm, and did not mention the rash. Thompson also told Deep that a review of Martha by someone from the PICU team would just get her parents 'more stressed and anxious', the tribunal heard. Rose told the disciplinary panel: 'Prof Deep said Prof Thompson told him that Martha was stable and did not need a review … Martha was not stable and GMC say it was entirely incorrect for Prof Thompson to have given Prof Deep that impression.' Thompson denies the allegations against him. Rose told the tribunal that Thompson claims that he acted according to established medical literature. The doctor also says that his assessment that Martha did not need a review, as communicated on the call with Deep, was separate to his concern about causing her parents increased stress or anxiety. Martha was transferred to intensive care on 30 August 2021 by which time she had septic shock, according to a serious incident report produced for KCH. She had sustained an injury to her pancreas when she fell off her bike on a summer holiday. Doctors at King's College did not listen to the concerns of her parents, Merope Mills, a senior editor at the Guardian, and her husband, Paul Laity, including that she could have had sepsis, a significant cause of avoidable death that kills an estimated 40,000 people a year in the UK. Martha's rule came as a result of pressure on politicians, NHS bosses and doctors after Mills and Laity spoke out about their experience. The hearing in Manchester continues.
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Sickening questions a creepy doctor asked his female patient before he was disqualified from practicing
A Sydney doctor has been barred from seeing patients for three years after he asked a female patient about her sexual history and touched her inappropriately. A woman visited Dr Mohanadas Balasingham's general practice in Merrylands on September 5, 2020, after she missed a period and had stomach cramps. The New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) heard last month that the former GP asked the patient inappropriate questions about her sexual history. This included the number of sexual partners she had been with as well as when she had first become sexually active. When she answered that she was active from the age of 15 and before being married, he reportedly smiled and said: 'So you used to go to school and do it on the way and your parents didn't know about it.' Dr Balasingham also reportedly asked the woman: 'How many boyfriends were Nepalese and how many are Australian?' The tribunal also heard the former GP performed a vaginal examination on the patient but did not obtain informed consent, or offer her a chaperone. Dr Balasingham reportedly digitally penetrated the woman and touched her for five to six seconds after her pregnancy test came back negative. The tribunal heard Dr Balasingham was trying to determine if the woman had an ectopic pregnancy, but that he should have instructed her to present at an emergency department instead of performing the vaginal examination. The woman said the exam did not feel 'normal or appropriate'. She left the medical practice with her partner and was crying by the time she reached the car. She made a complaint to the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) two days later which was heard by NCAT in 2023. During the case, it was also alleged that Dr Balasingham failed to appropriately monitor another patient's anti-depressant medication between 2019 and 2021. Dr Balasingham was found guilty of both unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct on November 28, 2023. The former GP has denied the conduct alleged during the tribunal. Daily Mail Australia has contacted his lawyers for comment. Dr Balasingham filed an application when he stopped work which sought 'AUD $20million as compensation'. In the document, he alleged the tribunal were biased, the HCCC had fabricated allegations and that the woman had falsified allegations to extort money from him. The former GP was first registered as a medical practitioner in India in 1987 and then registered in NSW in 2001. He started work at Woodville Road Medical and Dental Centre in April 2019 but his registration was suspended on March 2021. The doctor was then permitted to return to practice with conditions on his registration in April 2022. Dr Balasingham stopped working in August 2024, allowing his registration to lapse and sold his practice in December. Last month, the tribunal imposed protective orders on the former GP, barring Dr Balasingham from being registered for three years.
Globe and Mail
12-05-2025
- Globe and Mail
Toronto doctor has medical licence revoked after pleading guilty to harassment of more than a dozen girls
A Toronto doctor has had his medical licence revoked after he pleaded guilty to criminal harassment of more than a dozen girls and admitted to public masturbation. A tribunal at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario found the facts admitted by Armen Parajian established professional misconduct and were grounds enough for a reprimand and to have his certification of registration revoked in March. The tribunal decision, released last week, says Parajian pleaded guilty in criminal court to harassing 13 female victims over a six-month period in the city's Beaches neighbourhood starting in November 2020. The ruling cites an agreed statement of fact court heard in 2021 that said Parajian would drive slowly near the girls in his white Jeep, noting 12 of the victims were between the ages of 10 and 15. On more than one occasion, it appeared to the victims that he was pretending to use his phone so he could record or photograph them, the statement of fact said. As a result, the victims reasonably feared for their safety based on their perception of the accused's conduct,' the statement reads. '... the accused was reckless as to whether his conduct of driving slowly in the vicinity of the victims would cause them to feel harassed. The tribunal ruling said Parajian, a thoracic surgeon, also admitted to masturbating in the passenger seat of his vehicle while parked on a residential street, as witnessed by an adult victim. It also noted that for about two years before the specified events, there were numerous reports of indecent exposure by a man in a white Jeep. A victim impact statement from a mother said that his actions have left her feeling stressed, sad and scared for the safety of her children and her community, and that she now worries when she has to take her child to a new doctor. 'I used to have a certain level of trust and respect for that physician simply because they were a medical professional. Now, that pre-established trust is gone,' the statement reads. 'I am anxious and skeptical of anyone who treats my children for the first time.' In another impact statement, parents wrote how their daughter kept having to look over her shoulder in the community, always on high alert. Character letters in support of Parajian, including from his wife and two friends, emphasized his kindness and compassion, according to the tribunal filings. For the criminal charges, Parajian was sentenced to probation for rehabilitation and ongoing community supervision for three years, which he has since completed. 'Dr. Parajian has been found guilty of a criminal offence relevant to his suitability to practise and his conduct would be reasonably regarded by registrants as disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional,' the tribunal wrote in its findings. 'Patients come to physicians for protection and healing. The publicity around these incidents has diminished the public's confidence that any physician they visit will care for them and they will be safe in their vulnerable relationships with them. Revocation will help maintain that confidence.' The documents show Parajian and the College jointly submitted that the penalty for his actions should be revocation of his registration.
National Post
11-05-2025
- National Post
Toronto doctor loses license after pleading guilty to targeting young girls
A Toronto doctor has had his medical license revoked after he pleaded guilty to criminal harassment of more than a dozen girls and admitted to public masturbation. Article content Article content A tribunal at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario found the facts admitted by Armen Parajian established professional misconduct and were grounds enough for a reprimand and to have his certification of registration revoked in March. Article content The tribunal decision, released last week, says Parajian pleaded guilty in criminal court to harassing 13 female victims over a six-month period in the city's Beaches neighbourhood starting in November 2020. Article content Article content The ruling cites an agreed statement of fact court heard in 2021 that said Parajian would drive slowly near the girls in his white Jeep, noting 12 of the victims were between the ages of 10 and 15. On more than one occasion, it appeared to the victims that he was pretending to use his phone so he could record or photograph them, the statement of fact said. Article content As a result, the victims reasonably feared for their safety based on their perception of the accused's conduct,' the statement reads. '… the accused was reckless as to whether his conduct of driving slowly in the vicinity of the victims would cause them to feel harassed.' Article content The tribunal ruling said Parajian, a thoracic surgeon, also admitted to masturbating in the passenger seat of his vehicle while parked on a residential street, as witnessed by an adult victim. Article content Article content Article content Article content A victim impact statement from a mother said that his actions have left her feeling stressed, sad and scared for the safety of her children and her community, and that she now worries when she has to take her child to a new doctor. Article content 'I used to have a certain level of trust and respect for that physician simply because they were a medical professional. Now, that pre-established trust is gone,' the statement reads. 'I am anxious and skeptical of anyone who treats my children for the first time.' Article content In another impact statement, parents wrote how their daughter kept having to look over her shoulder in the community, always on high alert. Article content Character letters in support of Parajian, including from his wife and two friends, emphasized his kindness and compassion, according to the tribunal filings.
