Last Updated on January 18, 2020
Foreign-trained doctors in the UK were found to comprise 60.5% of all proven sexual assault cases in the NHS in the last three year.
23 out of 38 sexual assault cases were committed by doctors who were trained overseas, according to The Daily Mail.
Theses cases include indecent behavior as well as rape and other forms of sexual assault.
Following the revelation of the eye-opening statistics, the NHS is seeking to reduce the number of ethnic minority medical professionals hauled in front of disciplinary meetings.
Britain has 95,000 doctors from black and minority backgrounds and are twice as likely to be called to disciplinary meetings over their white colleagues.
Nurses of black and minority backgrounds face a similarly disproportionate rate of disciplinary action.
The report emerged after a high profile sexual misconduct case where a Czech-trained medical professional, Anush Babu, was discovered secretly filming female patients for years.
Prerana Issar, who is the NHS’ chief people officer, on the disproportionate rates of disciplinary action, said “It is not acceptable that if you come from some backgrounds, you are more likely to enter the formal disciplinary process, stay in it longer and have more career-limiting outcomes. We must change this and quickly.”
A retired consultant surgeon, J. Meirion Thomas, who worked in the NHS for 30 years, said “Complaints of sexual misconduct, and other matters against doctors, should be assessed irrespective of ethnicity. Applying any other criteria risks that some complaints may not be properly investigated.”
An NHS spokesperson said “Where allegations are made it is right that they are thoroughly investigated and any appropriate action taken, regardless of someone’s ethnicity or where they trained. But it is also right that all NHS staff feel they will be treated fairly and not face discrimination, which is what this guidance sets out to achieve.”
An internal report found “no evidence of [racial] bias” in its disciplinary procedures. Instead, however, it suggested that black and minority doctors weren’t being given sufficient assistance, some claimed to feel “isolated” and “treated as outsiders.”
