A&E doctor jailed for sexually assaulting two ‘vulnerable patients’
The doctor would pretend to be doing legitimate medical examinations and then assault his patients.
A married A&E doctor has been jailed for almost five years after he sexually assaulted two men in hospital.
Tayabb Shah, 39, pretended to carry out legitimate medical examinations while actually assaulting the ‘vulnerable’ patients at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.
The first victim came forward after he confided in a relative about what happened to him in September 2020.
His family member reported it to the hospital and an investigation was launched as no one knew which doctor it was.
Staff ‘were getting close to identifying Shah’ when they saw him with another patient, prosecutors told Nottingham Crown Court.
Nurses chatted with the patient and ‘by chance’ found out Shah had abused them as well.
The victim also revealed Shah had assaulted him on two occasions when he had been in hospital weeks earlier.
The father-of-two had only been working at the hospital for nine months when he committed the crimes, after previously working at a hospital in Galway, Ireland.
Shah, originally from Pakistan, denied any wrongdoing but was unanimously convicted of five counts of sexual assault.
Detective Constable Kerry Stringer said: ‘Far from being the kind, caring, compassionate, responsible professional that his victims had the right to expect, Shah abused his position of trust for his own sexual gratification.
‘He has shown no hint of regret or remorse and by refusing to admit to his crimes, he put his victims through the further ordeal of reliving what happened in front of a jury.
‘I also hope the guilty verdicts delivered today brings comfort to both victims, who showed tremendous strength and bravery throughout the investigation and court proceedings.’
Shah was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
Nottingham University Hospitals Trust’s medical director, Dr Keith Girling, said: ‘As soon as Nottingham University Hospitals staff reported these very serious allegations about Dr Shah he was excluded from work.
‘We did not renew his contract and we have assisted the police throughout their investigations.
‘Dr Shah betrayed the trust that patients and their families place in us whilst they are in our care.
‘Our thoughts are with his victims and their families, and I am so incredibly sorry that they were taken advantage of when they were so vulnerable.
‘Dr Shah is not representative of the hard-working and kind staff at Nottingham University Hospitals and we hope that today’s outcome will help provide some degree of comfort to those he harmed.’
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