Top surgeon who was 'blackmailed' for drugs after having sex with patient is suspended

A neurosurgeon has been suspended for eight months for having a sexual relationship with a patient and prescribing opioid painkillers without recording it.

Chirag Patel, a consultant at University Hospital Wales in Cardiff, carried out three procedures on the patient between February 2019 and December 2021, medical tribunal records showed.

Shortly after the first operation, they began a sexual relationship that lasted six months.

But the misconduct tribunal found a close relationship continued and Patel continued to prescribe the controlled medication until January 2023, claiming the patient made threats to expose their relationship. The tribunal heard he "bitterly regrets" his actions.

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, which oversees the hospital, said it was aware of the suspension and Patel was not currently working for the board.

Patel, who had been a permanent consultant at the hospital since 2018, was the only clinician in Wales who could treat Patient A's specific condition, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service was told.

He first performed a discectomy on Patient A in February 2019, operated again in August 2019, then a final time in December 2021.

The tribunal was told that by February 2023, the relationship had deteriorated and Patient A made accusations to the police about the doctor.

Officers did not pursue them but notified the medical director of the health board.

Patel referred himself to the General Medical Council (GMC) - the independent regulator of doctors, the same month.

GMC counsel Harriet Tighe submitted that Patel had stated he provided Patient A with his phone number because she might need to contact him for medical reasons.

She said in January 2020, while the sexual relationship was ongoing, the patient spoke to Patel about renewed symptoms and he arranged an appointment with her via his secretary rather than via a GP.

Despite missed appointments, the tribunal heard Patel continued to prescribe morphine sulphate tablets and diazepam on a non-emergency basis and without making a note in hospital records or informing the GP between May 2022 and January 2023.

"The misconduct in this case was persistent, repeated, and was an abuse of professional position which demonstrated a reckless disregard for patient safety and professional standards," Tighe said.

His counsel, Fiona Robertson, said that between mid-August 2019 and late January 2020 Patient A was no longer under Patel's clinical care and his evidence was that he believed his formal involvement in her treatment had come to an end.