Family doctor ‘cupped patient’s breast in his hands and started breathing heavily during examination for a COUGH’

Dr Abhijit Banerjee has denied conducting an intimate chest examination, which was sexually motivated. Pictured arriving at a tribunal hearing in Manchester

A family doctor cupped a patient's breast in his hands and began breathing 'heavily and erratically' as she underwent an examination for a severe cough, a medical tribunal heard today.
Married father-of-two Dr Abhijit Banerjee, 42, locked the door of his consulting room and told the woman to take off her bra before he knelt in front of her with his head in 'close proximity' to her nipples, it was claimed.
He was also said to have squeezed the patient’s right breast and appeared to be 'jittery' during the routine chest examination.
The woman claimed she could only see the top of the GP’s head as he listened under her right breast.
The alleged incident occurred in March 2012 after the 42-year old woman known as Patient A went to see Dr Banerjee at the Abbeyview surgery in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, where he is senior partner.
The hearing was told she had suffered chest conditions including pleurisy, pneumonia and sarcoidosis for a number of years which required up to 60 chest examinations. She had previously been prescribed antibiotics.
Giving evidence from behind a screen at the Medical Practitioner’s Tribunal Service in Manchester, Patient A said: 'I told Dr Banerjee I had a severe cough and I took a place on the couch.
'He stood up and stood in front of me. I sat on the edge and facing me. He asked me to remove my top. He said it was so he could give me a chest exam. There was no screen or curtain. He didn’t offer me a chaperone, I’m very certain of that, but I didn’t request one either.
'I was wearing a bra and kept it on at that stage. He began to listen to my chest with a stethoscope. He wasn’t particularly talking. He also listened to my back. I leant forward because I’m used to having chest exams.
'He listened under my bra strap from the front to my chest but he didn’t explain that was what he was going to do. He then asked me to remove my bra. He said it was to listen to my chest.

'It was slightly uncomfortable but he’s a doctor. He removed it entirely and put it on the bench. I put my arm across my breasts to cover them. He began to listen to my chest through a stethoscope.
'He was listening to my chest and moved my arm away from my breast. He didn’t tell me that was what he was going to do and gave me no explanation.
'I didn’t say anything about it. He went on his knees and held my right breast in his left hand. He was holding the whole breast. He asked me to lean forwards into him while he was still holding my breasts and I followed the instruction and then he listened underneath my breast and all I could see was the top of his head.

''I thought the chest exam was unusual while it was happening. It had made me feel uncomfortable'

- Patient A

'His head was level with under my breast because I remember just being able to see the top of his head. He was touching my nipple as he cupped my breasts to lift it with the palm of his hand.
'He kept his hand still. He didn’t say anything while he put the stethoscope under my breast and he didn’t move it anywhere else. I thought his breathing seemed erratic. He hadn’t discussed breathing during the exam or whether he would give me a breathing demonstration.
'It came to an end when he got up and walked away and said I could get dressed. He was slightly uncomfortable but maybe that’s because I felt like that. He turned away from me quite quickly and told me to get dressed.
'I thought the chest exam was unusual while it was happening. It had made me feel uncomfortable as soon as it happened. There wasn’t one particular reason why I didn’t say anything at the time. I just wanted to leave. You don’t jump to conclusions quickly like this.
She added: 'The door was locked when I came to leave the room. I recall the doctor locking the door. He didn’t tell me he had done that. When I was on the couch before he asked me to remove my top he locked the door. I unlocked the door to go out and I left. He didn’t say bye and neither did I.'

The woman later confided in a friend as to what happened before alerting her husband two days later.
She made a formal complaint by letter to the surgery on May 11 and the case was referred to the Lincolnshire Primary Care NHS Trust.
Chloe Hudson, counsel for the MPTS said: 'She says he locked the door of the room and told her he needed to listen to her lungs and asked her to remove her top.

'It is standard procedure that a full chest exam requires the doctor to listen to the front, back and side of the chest and because of the abdominal pain he had to listen to the abdomen'

- Chloe Hudson, counsel for the MPTS

'He moved her to a couch and asked her to remove her bra as it was obstructing him. She did so, and placed her arms across her breasts.
'He moved her arms out of the way and asked her to lean forwards and she says he placed his whole hand on her entire breast including her nipple. He was jittery and his breathing was erratic.
'She brought the consultation to an end, put her clothes on and soon realised she had been subject to an inappropriate examination.'
Dr Banerjee, from Peterborough who specialises in minor surgery, dermatology and ear, nose and throat complaints, denies charges of sexually motivated misconduct.
Miss Hudson said: 'He describes himself as being absolutely devastated to read the complaint in the letter.
'He describes a consultation which involved two complaints by the patient - she was concerned about her chest and the possibility of pneumonia.
'It is standard procedure that a full chest exam requires the doctor to listen to the front, back and side of the chest and because of the abdominal pain he had to listen to the abdomen.'

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