Disgraced doctor Ali Shokouh-Amiri faces another tribunal – which could lead to him being struck off.
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service gave Dr Shokouh-Amiri a formal warning last year, but decided that his fitness to practise was not impaired despite the fact he had admitted and been found guilty of a number of failings against female patients while he was working in Guernsey.
The General Medical Council appealed that decision, arguing that it was “not sufficient”.
The UK High Court has now quashed the decision – forcing the matter back before the MPTS.
A GMC spokesperson told Express: “We welcome the High Court’s decision to allow our appeal.”
“The court agreed that the tribunal made errors when considering the very serious allegations against Dr Ali Shokouh-Amiri, with the judgment noting that at various points, clear errors of fact were made and the tribunal failed to consider important evidence,” they said.
“We will continue to challenge tribunal decisions where we believe the outcome is insufficient to protect the public.”
Dr Shokouh-Amiri was given a formal warning by the MPTS last year after he admitted and was found guilty of a number of serious failings – including removing the ovaries of two women without their consent, carrying out intimate examinations without a chaperone on multiple women, and failing to arrange treatment for another patient.
The incidents all occurred when he was employed as a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist by the Medical Specialist Group between October 2016 and August 2019.
Six of his patients made more than 100 complaints between them about his work and behaviour during his time in the island.
With the MPTS finding that the doctor’s “fitness to practise” was “not impaired”, he was allowed to continue working and was most recently treating patients in Southend, despite a petition calling for him to be sacked by the town’s NHS trust.
The General Medical Council decided to appeal the decision to allow him to continue practising, telling Express at the time that it had “decided to exercise its powers to issue an appeal in the case of Dr Ali Shokouh-Amiri on grounds including that the tribunal erred in a number of their factual findings, and the tribunal was wrong to conclude that the doctor’s fitness to practise was not impaired”.
The GMC told the appeal hearing that the doctor’s fitness to practise was impaired because there was insufficient evidence of insight, continued risk of repetition, and the allegations were extremely serious.
The GMC appealed the decision on four grounds, arguing that errors were made when evidence was considered in the cases of four of the women.
Two of the grounds were accepted by the High Court, with two dismissed.
The High Court agreed that the MPTS had made “wrong” or “unjust” decisions in relation to the failings Dr Shokouh-Amiri committed against Patient B and Patient F.
“… that then infects the Tribunal’s conclusion that the Respondent’s fitness to practise was not impaired and in turn the decision not to make a direction. For that reason the ‘relevant decision’ will be quashed,” said the High Court.
Appeals concerning Patient A and Patient D were not upheld.
With the appeal approved on two grounds, the MPTS will have to rehear the case, to make a fresh decision on some of the facts.
A date for this has not yet been set.
Dr Shokouh-Amiri can continue to practise under the current situation.
