A doctor who squeezed a junior colleague’s waist as a ‘bad girl’ was beaten up

A doctor who sexually assaulted two junior female colleagues and sent suggestive messages has been struck off the medical register.

Dr. Velmurugan Kuppuswamy was working as a locum consultant cardiologist at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, when he “assaulted” the women, called one a “bad girl” and squeezed her waist.

A medical professionals tribunal found a pattern of behavior and concluded that his actions were “sexually motivated” and created an “intimidating, hostile, abusive, insulting or offensive environment”.

Hywel DDA Health Board said it was “committed to providing a safe, supportive environment” for patients and staff.

Between August and October 2021, Kuppuswamy, known as Dr Well, sexually assaulted two colleagues, known as Dr A and Dr B, and abused his position.

The tribunal’s decision report stated that he had sent Dr A inappropriate messages which were “overly familiar” and “flirty”.

While attending a party in the communal space of the hospital’s staff housing in September 2021, he hugged her, touched her back, and squeezed her waist.

The panel heard how he grabbed and squeezed her wrists, pulled her towards him, smiled and winked, and told her she was a “bad girl” in response to her comment that smoking was harmful to health.

In a witness statement to the General Medical Council (GMC), she said she “felt guilty” and that her actions “felt very wrong”.

And in her statement to police, she said she tried to get away from him and told him he was hurting her.

Although the police investigated, no charges were brought.

At the same event, he told Dr. B to “keep doing that sexy dance for me,” placed his hand on her thigh, and squeezed her near the groin area.

During the party, Kuppuswamy followed a group of female colleagues as they moved to a different area and watched them as they danced.

He also asked two women to use their breasts as paddles while playing ping pong against them at a party.

In a witness statement, Dr A said she was one of the first people to be hugged by Kuppuswamy when she arrived at the party, adding that he “stepped towards me and put his hand out, aiming at my waist”.

“I don’t push a counselor away and I didn’t have a choice in how I reacted. I just stood there and didn’t hold my hand out to him,” she said.

“Both of his hands were on my waist and squeezing. Dr. Weil’s hands were on my waist, flat on my back, crossed very low and I felt uncomfortable.

“I noticed that with every woman he greeted, he would especially hug her around the waist, leaving his hand on the smallest part of her waist.”

Lee Fish, who represented the General Medical Council at the hearing, told the panel that Kuppuswamy’s name had previously been removed from the medical register in January 2012 because “a finding of dishonesty had been made” against him.

He told the tribunal that Kuppuswamy successfully applied to be reinstated on the register in November 2020 – less than a year before he was sexually assaulted in Withybush.

“His behavior, which included several incidents of unwanted physical touching, was sexually motivated,” the tribunal concluded.

‘They were treated as sex objects’

Throughout the proceedings, Kuppuswamy claimed that the allegations against him were the result of his “whistleblowing”, linked to performance concerns he had raised regarding another doctor at the hospital.

He said that Dr A and Dr B were “confabulating” events to target him and that Dr B was an unreliable witness due to previous traumatic experiences.

But the panel did not accept that the evidence he submitted matched these claims.

Kuppuswamy was also “reluctant to admit that there was a power differential between him and Dr A as he was only a locum consultant”.

But, in his evidence, he referred to both colleagues as “girls” several times and the tribunal was “satisfied that Dr A was a junior colleague and there was a power imbalance”.

The report added: “The tribunal found that calling a junior colleague ‘a perfect girlfriend’ and asking her to dance with him was in itself inappropriate because of their lack of personal relationship and the possibility of an imbalance of power due to pressure.”

The panel acknowledged the feedback provided on behalf of Kuppuswamy “was broadly very positive” and “demonstrated that he is clinically competent and an otherwise good doctor respected by his colleagues and patients”.

“However, given the nature of the case and the serious findings against her, her clinical practice testimonials … were not sufficient to demonstrate insight or treatment regarding her sexually motivated abuse,” the report said.

An apology letter written by Kuppuswamy was also submitted to the tribunal, “However, this letter … did not admit any wrongdoing but apologized if anyone ‘misinterpreted’ his actions or intentions as inappropriate or too familiar”.

Kuppuswamy was deregistered which he can apply for reinstatement within five years.

He was suspended to cover 28 days from 28 January – the time he will appeal the decision.

The tribunal held that Kuppuswamy had “failed to act honestly” and was “satisfied”. [his] The behavior represented a significant breach of professional boundaries and clearly fell seriously below expected standards.”

It said that Kuppuswamy “treated Dr A and Dr B as sexual objects to be used for his sexual gratification” and concluded that his conduct “fell far below the standard of conduct that could be expected of a doctor as serious misconduct”.

“The public should be able to trust doctors to act with integrity, and to otherwise interact appropriately with junior colleagues and medical students,” it said.

The health board’s medical director Mark Henwood said it was not policy to comment about current or previous staff, but added: “We have strong policies and procedures to ensure the safety of both staff and patients in our care and we take our responsibility for their welfare very seriously.

“We are committed to providing a safe, supportive environment where patients and staff can be confident that best practice is being followed at all times.”

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