Highlights
- Dr Chirag Patel, a neurosurgeon at an NHS hospital in Cardiff, suspended for eight months
- Patel had a sexual relationship with a patient he treated between 2019 and 2021
- He prescribed controlled medication to her without recording it, while claiming she was blackmailing him
- Tribunal rejected striking him off the register, citing his "genuine remorse"
AN NHS neurosurgeon has been suspended for eight months after a medical tribunal found he had a sexual relationship with a patient he was treating and prescribed her controlled medication without recording it in her medical notes.
Dr Chirag Patel, who trained at the Government Medical College of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in India, was employed at an NHS hospital in Cardiff, Wales, when the events took place.
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) released its findings recently, following a hearing last month.
Patel first operated on the woman, referred to in proceedings as Patient A, in February 2019, performing a discectomy. He carried out a second operation in August 2019 and a third in December 2021 to fit a spinal cord stimulator.
The tribunal found that Patel entered into a sexual relationship with Patient A while she was still under his care and described as a vulnerable patient. Between May 2022 and January 2023, Patel prescribed controlled medication to Patient A and failed to record it in her medical notes.
The blackmail claim
By February 2023, the relationship had broken down. Patient A made allegations against Patel to the police. Those allegations were not pursued, but police informed the medical director of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, which opened a disciplinary investigation.
Patel then referred himself to the General Medical Council (GMC) on February 28, 2023. In a written statement to the tribunal, Patel said, "I am also deeply remorseful for prescribing medication for Patient A while in a personal relationship with her. It is no excuse that I did this under the threat of blackmail and exposure."
He told the GMC he was "deeply regretful" of his misconduct.
The tribunal said the eight-month suspension was "appropriate and proportionate", adding that it was "sufficient to mark the seriousness of the misconduct" and to send a clear signal to Patel, the medical profession and the public that such conduct was unacceptable.
It also considered but rejected striking Patel off the medical register, concluding that erasure would be "punitive and disproportionate" given his "genuine remorse, extensive insight and substantial remediation".
(with inputs from PTI)
