Disgraced doctor who molested nurse on hospital ward is passed fit to treat patients again
20.05.2022 - 15:31
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A disgraced doctor who sexually assaulted a nurse on a hospital ward and then tried to blame the incident on 'cultural norms' in the UK has been passed fit to treat patients again.
Imran Qureshi, 44, grabbed the breast of the young woman and told her he wanted an affair after he saw her as 'sexually available,' a misconduct hearing was previously told.
The nurse, known only as Miss A, was said to be 'shaken up and distraught' after reporting how the married father-of-two grabbed her chest for two seconds before trying to 'make light' of it and then becoming aggressive.
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Although Qureshi admitted he made a ''misjudgement'', he blamed it on the UK's different 'cultural norms' as opposed to his native Pakistan and he failed to spot a proverbial 'red light' warning him to make no advances towards the victim. But he was convicted of sexual assault and suspended from work, and she claimed she found it difficult to trust male colleagues following the incident.
Qureshi had been working as a locum senior house officer at the time. In June 2017 he was suspended from medical practise for 12 months after he offered a 'since deep-hearted apology' to Miss A and insisted it was a ''moment of madness' and 'short, brief touching.'
But after his suspension ended the following year, he was made subject of various workplace restrictions - meaning he didn't get any jobs in medicine for almost five years. As a result he became "deskilled."
This month, at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester, a panel deemed Qureshi's fitness to practise was no longer impaired after hearing he had undertaken seven locum shifts at hospitals in