#Medical chaperone blog professional

Studies give a wide range between 0.2% and 10%, of doctors admitting to a sexual relationship with a patient and around 1.6% are sanctioned. The experience of the courts as well as studies show patients are reluctant to come forward, due to embarrassment, fear, or even misplaced loyalty towards the doctor. It is difficult to know how many doctors have crossed a sexual boundary as they are unlikely to self disclose. Into whatsoever houses I enter, I will enter to help the sick, and I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm, especially from abusing the bodies of man or woman, bond or free. It breaks a founding ethical principle of medicine, dating back to the Hippocratic Oath. Violations undermine the trust patients have in health professionals and can cause psychological harm, compromising ongoing medical care long into the future.

#Medical chaperone blog professional

Shocking as this is, fortunately, doctors who cross their professional boundaries in this way are rare, though each one brings shame not just to the individual doctor, but vicariously to the whole profession. He was found guilty of a total of 90 sexual offences. The assaults involved carrying out “invasive examinations for his own gratification.” Shah also breached General Medical Council (GMC) guidelines on the use of chaperones during intimate examinations. In February 2020, the general practitioner Manesh Shah, received three life sentences for sexually assaulting his patients.