Rotherham doctor suspended after 'sexually motivated' misconduct towards female nurse

Dr Christian Hanson was working as a speciality doctor in emergency medicine at Rotherham General Hospital when the incident occurred in June 2018.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) heard how Dr Hanson had touched the nurse's hips, clamped his knees around her legs and whispered into her ear while they were alone together in a consulting room. 

He had also asked the victim to see him outside of work. 

The hearing, which started on September 21 and concluded on Thursday, heard that Dr Hanson's conduct had subjected the victim to unwanted sexually motivated behaviour.

The victim, referred to as Ms A, was a nurse working with Dr Hanson in the paediatric department during a night shift.

Giving live evidence, she told the tribunal the doctor had put his hands on her going through a door, as well as following her into a consulting room and "pulled her towards him and grabbed her by the hips, clamping her legs between his legs" and had then "whispered into her ear whilst pushing his body against her back".

Within minutes after the incident happened, the nurse reported what had occurred to her line manager, which resulted in the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust undertaking their own investigation. 

Dr Hanson, who did not give evidence at the hearing, had previously denied the allegations and in his initial statement he provided to the hospital trust, said: "She swiped her card to open the door, the door opened and she was still standing, not exiting from the paediatric section. I held her from the back and said keep moving." 

The MPTS was shown CCTV footage of the incident which showed Dr Hanson and the nurse going through a door and that his hands "appeared to be on Ms A's hips or waist area as she passed through".

The MPTS said the footage showed that "Ms A does not in fact stop while opening the door in the corridor and instead continues to move showing no apparent hesitation".

The tribunal noted that: "Dr Hanson was walking immediately behind her and both Ms A and Dr Hanson walked through the said doors in one continuous movement".

There was no CCTV from the incident in the consulting room, but the tribunal had concluded that the available CCTV footage, corroborated Ms A’s account and was at odds with Dr Hanson’s description of events as recorded in the trust’s meeting notes dated August 15, 2018, and were signed and agreed by Dr Hanson on October 18, 2018.

On the balance of probabilities the tribunal found that the events relating to the further incidents in the consulting room were "more likely than not to have occurred".

General Medical Council (GMC) representative, Mr Daniel Fugallo said: “Dr Hanson’s conduct amounted to an abuse of this position and which was exacerbated by the fact Ms A was, as Dr Hanson knew, alone in the department and he had subjected her to unwanted sexually motivated behaviour when she was alone with him in a consulting room.”

Mr Fugallo added that because of the seriousness of the incident, which involved an "abuse of trust”, immediate action should be taken to protect public confidence in the profession.

The tribunal concluded that Dr Hanson’s conduct fell so far short of the standards of conduct reasonably to be expected of a doctor as to meet the threshold of misconduct.  

Dr Hanson has 28 days to appeal against his suspension.

Rotherham Hospital has been contacted for comment.