A prime coronary heart surgeon who carried out lifesaving operations on youngsters has been struck off for sexually harassing and groping a colleague.
Fabrizio De Rita grabbed a member of employees’s breast ‘on prime of her scrubs and bra’ in what might quantity to a prison sexual assault, a disciplinary listening to panel concluded.
He was accused of sexually harassing the lady over an eight-month interval and is now banned from working within the UK as a health care provider after the misconduct case was proved towards him.
Mr De Rita was a guide paediatric surgeon on the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, the place he carried out lifesaving surgical procedure and coronary heart transplants on critically sick infants.
He has been discovered culpable of significant skilled misconduct, sexually harassing a colleague and abusing a place of seniority by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service panel.
Chair Debi Gould stated his ‘failure to respect the dignity of one other colleague’ amounted to ‘sexual harassment.’
The allegations associated to a interval between Might 2022 and January 2023.
Coronary heart surgeon Fabrizio De Rita (pictured) has been struck off for groping and sexually harassing a colleague
A disciplinary listening to panel concluded Fabrizio De Rita grabbed a member of employees’s breast ‘on prime of her scrubs and bra’ in what might quantity to a prison sexual assault
They included that Mr De Rita made inappropriate gestures in direction of the colleague earlier than telling her she was ‘going purple’, that he pulled her chair in direction of him in a gathering room, regardless of her shifting it away from him, that he despatched her WhatsApp messages, ‘pinged her bra strap’ and grabbed her left breast.
This behaviour was described as sexually motivated and an abuse of his place as a senior surgeon within the prestigious cardiothoracic division.
The tribunal panel discovered the allegations confirmed aside from one of many alleged inappropriate gestures and the sending of messages. It was additionally discovered that shifting the chair was not confirmed to be sexually motivated.
Mr De Rita, who labored on the hospital for greater than 10 years, was suspended by the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Belief the day after a grievance was made.
In deciding the surgeon was not match to practise drugs within the UK, the tribunal chair Miss Gould stated his ‘conduct was essentially incompatible along with his continued registration.’
A file picture of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service
The panel determined being struck off was ‘the one needed, acceptable, and proportionate sanction that it might impose given the seriousness of the misconduct, the dearth of perception and remediation proven and the excessive danger of repetition that remained.’
Commenting: ‘The Tribunal thought of it to be an aggravating issue that the misconduct concerned sexual misconduct in direction of a colleague and an abuse by Mr De Rita of his extra senior place.
‘The Tribunal famous that skilled colleagues have the correct to count on that they are going to be handled with dignity at work. Mr De Rita was in a extra senior function, ought to have led by instance, was an skilled and lengthy serving physician and will have identified higher.’
A damning Care High quality Fee inspection report in January discovered a ‘long-standing historical past of issues concerning the tradition’ within the cardiothoracic division. The CQC inspectors raised points together with sexism, bullying and sexually inappropriate behaviour.
After Mr De Rita’s was struck off a spokesman for the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Belief stated: ‘All of our employees have the correct to really feel protected and supported at work and we’ve got a zero-tolerance method to any undesirable, inappropriate or dangerous sexual behaviours in direction of employees.
‘As a signatory of NHS England’s Sexual Security in Healthcare organisational constitution, we’ve got dedicated to take acceptable motion in all instances whatever the seniority or function of the perpetrator.’
Mr De Rita is initially from Italy the place he educated. The tribunal choice doesn’t cease Mr De Rita working overseas, though worldwide medical regulator will likely be knowledgeable of the choice.
