Patient A was just 13 years old when she had to undergo major surgery for a neurological condition. One of the medical staff in the room, a 23-year-old medical student called Cian Hughes, took an interest in her. By the time she was 17, the two were in a sexual relationship. Speaking to The Observer, Patient A said: “By the time he was doing major things with me sexually, I’d known him for four and half years,” she said. “There was a four-and-a half-year period for him to really get to know me, to build up a dependency that’s not normal.”
Last year, Hughes was found guilty of “serious sexual misconduct” by a medical tribunal. But instead of being struck off, he was suspended for 12 months. He will be able to return to clinical practice in June.
In a disturbing new investigation by our political editor, Rachel Sylvester, finds that two-thirds of women working in surgery had been sexually harassed by a colleague at work, and nearly a third have been sexually assaulted by a colleague. Now, female consultants are warning that patients are also being put at risk by male surgeons who think they are above the rules. |
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Who Watches the Watchers? 