Doctor accused of violence cleared of misconduct

Dr Shabari Shanmugasundaram worked at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, at the time of the alleged incidents

A doctor accused of slapping, punching, and strangling a person has been cleared of misconduct.

A tribunal considered 24 allegations against Dr Shabari Shanmugasundaram, which had been raised by a woman named in a report as "Ms A".

Dr Shanmugasundaram, who worked at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, at the time of the alleged incidents in 2018 and 2019, denied the allegations and a panel could not prove any of the claims against him.

Damian Cooper, who chaired the tribunal, said: "Having found the entirety of the allegation not proved, the tribunal did not proceed to consider whether the doctor's fitness to practise was impaired."

A further allegation that Dr Shanmugasundaram headbutted Ms A was withdrawn.

He was interviewed by police officers in 2021 but was told no action would be taken.

Dr Shanmugasundaram now works as a senior clinical fellow in the emergency department at Colchester General Hospital.

Dr Shanmugasundaram now works at the emergency department at Colchester General Hospital

The disputed allegations also included encouraging Ms A to discharge herself from hospital against medical advice and wrongly accessing her medical records.

Dr Shanmugasundaram admitted accessing and taking photos of Ms A's medical records, but said she had encouraged him to do so.

In his written evidence, he said he did not share Ms A's medical records with anyone else and referred himself to his clinical lead, acknowledging he had breached data protection rules.

"I reflected on my actions and accepted that it was not acceptable practice," he wrote.

Mr Cooper added Ms A's witness statement and oral evidence was not supported by other evidence seen by the tribunal.