Doctor removed ovaries without consent - tribunal

Ali Shokouh-Amiri was a partner at the Medical Specialist Group from 2016 to 2019

A doctor who admitted removing the ovaries of two women in Guernsey without their consent will be allowed to continue practicing but has been given a warning.

At a Medical Practitioners Tribunal hearing, Ali Shokouh-Amiri, a partner at the Medical Specialist Group (MSG) from 2016 to 2019, faced a range of allegations relating to six patients under his care there.

He admitted hugging patients, performing intimate examinations without a chaperone and it was proven he had rubbed and or touched a patient's leg as well as hugged her following a consultation.

The tribunal, which started on 16 January, found the consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist's "fitness to medically practise is not impaired."

One patient told the hearing in Manchester the removal of her left ovary without her consent "had ruined her life".

Another patient, who believed Dr Shokouh-Amiri deliberately removed her ovaries, said it had brought on the menopause prematurely.

He faced more than 100 allegations of inappropriate behaviour with 24 instances proven.

Dr Shokouh-Amiri, who qualified as a doctor in January 2005, said in evidence he had been friendly with his patients but in a non-sexual way.

'Otherwise unblemished career'

He said he "was offering compassion and support… to provide comfort and reassurance".

Dr Shokouh-Amiri is currently working as a consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology at Mid and South Essex University Hospital.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service ruled he had "shown good insight into his failures" and had put in place "procedures and actions to address his failings to ensure they do not happen again".

It said he had an "otherwise unblemished career" and concluded there was a "low risk of Dr Shokouh-Amiri putting patients at a risk of unwarranted harm" and gave him a warning.

The doctor said he accepted the tribunal's findings in full and his intention now was to move on and to persuade the tribunal that he was a safe and effective doctor.