A woman in her 20s accused Dr Varaha Konathala, 66, of pushing her breasts out of her bra and squeezing them when she went to Kenwood Medical Centre for an appointment about ankle pain.
Dr Konathala denies the allegations but the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) found on the balance of probabilities that he had inappropriately touched her breasts and that his motives were sexual.
However, he has since been allowed to return to practice following a one-year suspension after the same tribunal service concluded he does not pose a risk to the public.
On Thursday, a High Court challenge was brought by the General Medical Council (GMC) who asked for Dr Konathala to be banned from the profession.
Alexis Hearnden, representing the GMC, asked: “If the doctor has been found to have carried out an opportunistic sexual assault on a patient, how can the public feel confident in him returning to practice?”
‘I was numb’
A tribunal previously heard that in 2019 the woman, referred to as Patient A, attended a consultation for ankle pain and then later in the consultation requested contraception.
Patient A said Dr Konathala explained that he would need to do a general health check and then started to lift her top, touched her back, chest and breasts.
She stated that she found Dr Konathala’s actions to be “really creepy and strange” and that “the way he was touching me did not feel like a doctor checking me”.
Describing the incident, she said: “I was numb because it was so uncomfortable what had happened and in my mind I was trying to make excuses that maybe this is the procedure, it’s nothing wrong.
“It wasn’t until the very end when he came so close to me and it felt like he was going to, you know, do something, like kiss me, that’s when I left and I pulled my top down and then I went to sit down.”
The incident was reported to the Met Police who decided to take no further actions due to a lack of witnesses, CCTV or forensics.
Dr Konathala said: “I did not examine Patient A’s breasts, back or chest as alleged. I deny that I touched her top, back, hips and breasts.”
But the tribunal concluded in February 2024 that parts of his evidence were “implausible” and suspended him for one year.
Last month the same tribunal service decided that having served his year suspension he could return to practice.
They concluded he “has reflected extensively on his learning, how he has improved, and how he will embed this learning into his future practice”.
‘An abuse of position and trust’
The GMC, which investigates concerns about doctors before referring them to the MPTS, appealed against the decision to give Dr Konathala a suspension rather than erasure.
At the High Court, GMC representative Ms Hearnden argued that Dr Konathala had not adequately reflected on the impact his actions had on the patient.
In his reflective statement Dr Konathala wrote that while he still denies the allegation he feels sorry that Patient A feels the way she described.
Ms Hearnden said: “It’s ‘I’m sorry you feel that way’. It’s not an apology.”
She added that Dr Konathala had offered no explanation for his behaviour.
“If there’s no explanation for why this happened in circumstances which are described as opportunistic, how do we know it won’t happen again when an opportunity arises?”
Ms Hearnden explained that this was the first time Patient A had seen a GP in this country.
“She left in floods of tears on the phone to her husband having been sexually assaulted by a doctor.”
Ms Hearnden added: “It is particularly important that this was in the guise of an examination. That is an abuse of position and abuse of trust. She is only in a room with him, happy to do what he tells her and to let him touch her, because he is a doctor.”
On behalf of Dr Konathala, it was argued that it would have been disingenuous for him to apologise for actions which he continues to deny.
He also proposed safeguards to prevent similar allegations from arising.
Justice Timothy Mould KC will give his ruling on whether a one-year suspension was the correct decision, as opposed to a ban.
