Barrow doctor who kissed patient's hands not fit to practise

Dr Ahmed Elshafey, who worked at Furness General Hospital in Barrow, was suspended after a previous fitness to practise hearing found he had acted inappropriately.

A tribunal panel heard Dr Elshafey was working as a specialist in ophthalmology - eye care - when he made inappropriate comments to two patients and acted inappropriately towards a nurse.

Following a 12-month suspension, his case was reviewed by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.

A panel found his fitness to practise was still impaired. 

Asking for the suspension to be lifted, Dr Elshafey told the tribunal that he thought about the impact on the two patients 'every day', according to hearing documents.

He said that he felt guilty for his actions and hoped that he did not cause permanent scars in their lives and that they would recover. 

Dr Elshafey accepted his behaviour was 'too friendly' and that his job was to treat patients and he should not cross boundaries.

He said this 'shameful behaviour' would remain a dent in his personality, according to the papers.

The tribunal panel said the doctor was not fit to practise and there was a risk of him repeating the same behaviour

"[The panel] was not satisfied that Dr Elshafey had developed sufficient insight into his actions, the reasons behind them and the impact on Patient A and Patient B, that would sufficiently mitigate the risk in this case," the panel said.

"Therefore, it was satisfied that there was risk of him repeating his misconduct.

"In the circumstances, the Tribunal determined that the need to meet the overarching objective required a finding of impairment in order to protect the public and to maintain public confidence and to uphold standards in the medical profession."

The panel placed conditions on how the doctor can work for the next 12 months.

He will be required to produce a personal development plan and inform the General Medical Council of any new postings, among other conditions.