Southwest London consultant struck off after kissing and touching woman at hospital

A consultant who sexually harassed a younger colleague at a South London hospital has been struck off the medical register.

Dr Asis Kumar was found by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service panel to have kissed the woman, touched her stomach, pulled down her face mask and made inappropriate comments while working at Kingston Hospital.

The tribunal concluded the conduct amounted to “very serious misconduct of a sexually predatory nature” and found that it escalated over a four-month period in 2021.

Dr Kumar was found to have kissed the woman on the cheek, touched her stomach over her clothes and pulled her mask down and pinched her cheek on one or more occasions between May and September 2021.

The tribunal ruled he had made inappropriate comments by telling her “I will miss you so much” after she handed in her notice, along with words to the effect of “I love your smell” and “no, just you and me” when he invited her for dinner.

He was found to have pulled down her face mask, pinched her cheek, placed his arm around her shoulders, pulled her towards him and said words to the effect of “you smell really lovely today, I love your smell” on her last day on September 8.

Later that day, he was found to have told her to put her chair next to his, after asking her to come into his office, kissed her on the cheek and asked her to hug him. He was also found to have stroked her sides while giving her a hug, and told her not to tell anyone he hugged her because of Covid.

The panel ruled Dr Kumar’s behaviour towards the woman amounted to sexual harassment and that he had abused his more senior position.

The woman, referred to as Ms A in the MPTS report, said she felt “very embarrassed and scared around him and… was not sure how to react or stop this behaviour” and reported “finding it difficult to sleep or eat”.

The MPTS report said: “Having found that Dr Kumar was in the habit of pulling down Ms A’s mask, touching or pinching her cheek, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her towards him when she was sat next to him, as well as kissing her a number of times, the tribunal was satisfied that his words and actions as a whole were of a sexual nature which would have the purpose or effect of violating Ms A’s dignity.

“Dr Kumar’s words or actions would have also created an intimidating or hostile environment for Ms A to work in. This was particularly so given Ms A’s very young age, the huge disparity in age between them and Dr Kumar’s seniority as a consultant.”

Barrister Scott Ivill, representing Dr Kumar, said that while “this is not an isolated incident, the proven conduct could perhaps be properly described as an isolated episode in an otherwise unblemished career spanning more than 40 years”, according to the report.

However, the tribunal found Dr Kumar, who denied the core allegations, had “limited insight”.

The panel decided to strike him from the register due to the “ongoing level of risk to public protection”.

Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Kingston Hospital, has been contacted for comment.