UK doctors guilty of sexual misconduct are not being struck off, research finds

UK doctors who are guilty of sexual misconduct are not being appropriately sanctioned due to weak disciplinary processes, research reveals.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of doctors found guilty of sexual misconduct were handed suspensions but allowed to continue working in medicine, according to analysis of fitness to practice tribunals by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS). This is despite the regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC), recommending they be struck off the medical register.

The GMC investigates complaints against doctors and refers the most serious cases to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) to adjudicate on whether they remain fit to practice.

The study analysed 222 new MPTS tribunal cases between August 2023 and August 2024 and found that out of the 46 proven cases of sexual misconduct identified, the MPTS imposed the same disciplinary sanction as the GMC recommended in 35. In 11 cases, the MPTS decided to only suspend the doctor rather than erase them from the medical register, and in no case did the MPTS impose a tougher sanction.

Mei Nortley, a consultant vascular surgeon and lead author of the research, said: “We hope this study aids the MPTS to reflect on whether it delivers its aims of protecting the public, ensuring doctors meet professional standards and promoting public confidence in the medical profession. Allowing rapists, sexual predators and those who use manipulation and coercion to return as practising doctors brings this into question.”

The research, published in the Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, found that all perpetrators were male doctors, with more than 80% holding positions of authority. Several cases involved multiple targets, showing repeated and systemic abuse.

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Source: The Guardian, 18 September 2025