A top neurosurgeon has been suspended after engaging in a sexual relationship with a vulnerable female patient and prescribing her addictive painkillers.
Dr. Chirag Patel, who worked at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, UK, first operated on the woman — referred to as Patient A — to remove a damaged disc in her spine, a tribunal heard.
He later began a sexual relationship with her in 2019 after carrying out a second surgery that same year.
By February 2023, the relationship had “deteriorated,” tribunal chair Remi Alabi said, and Patient A reported the surgeon to the police, who then notified the Cardiff and Vale Health Board.
Last month, Dr. Patel admitted to having a sexual relationship with the patient, sending her explicit images, and prescribing her medication, including the addictive muscle relaxant Diazepam.
The panel concluded that the doctor had shown “a reckless disregard for patient safety” by continuing to prescribe medication even after the patient missed appointments and by failing to inform her GP or document the prescriptions properly in her medical records.
Ms Alabi added that by failing to end the relationship, the surgeon had “put his personal interests — namely securing his career, reputation and family relationships — above Patient A’s proper care.”
Despite being told Dr. Patel was the only surgeon in NHS Wales capable of performing certain neuropathic pain surgeries, the panel imposed an eight-month suspension to “protect the public from the risks posed by [his] misconduct.”
Chair Mrs Alabi said the surgeon claimed he was “going through some marital difficulties” when the relationship with the patient began.
The doctor said:
“When I persisted in telling her that the relationship had to end, Patient A threatened to reveal our relationship to others, such as my employer and colleagues.
“I was afraid that if she did so, I could lose the job I so loved and had worked so hard to obtain. Given my speciality, this would have a knock-on effect on other patients if I was unable to work.
“With the benefit of hindsight, I know I should nonetheless have ended the relationship and been honest with my employer. However, at the time I felt panicked and unable to break it off — a decision I now bitterly regret.”
The surgeon prescribed Patient A an opioid painkiller known as MST until January 2023, alongside Diazepam.
He operated on her for a third time that year, inserting a spinal cord stimulator, four years after the first two surgeries.
The panel concluded that the patient was “vulnerable” and that her repeated requests for painkillers may have been linked to addiction.
A voicemail left for the surgeon by the patient was played at the tribunal, in which she demanded a prescription and threatened to report him to the police.
She said:
“Chirag, you had one chance, two chances, three chances, and more chances. You’re in the country doing your job. I don’t want to f*** you over but my spine is f***ed, right?
“I’ve given you chance after chance after chance. Do you know what? I could just write a book on you, okay?
“Are you going to man up and meet me, or are you going to be a cowardly c***, like I think you are? You’re no God, love.”
In his evidence, Dr. Patel claimed:
“I would only see her under the threat of blackmail and to appease her.
“Any romantic or friendly relationship had completely ended at this point, and our ongoing relationship was based purely on hostility and blackmail by her towards me.”
He also said:
“Patient A had asked for £11,000 previously, which I did not have, so I instead offered to give her £5,000 from my savings.”
Dr. Patel said he was “deeply remorseful” for prescribing medication while involved in a personal relationship with the patient.
He added:
“It is no excuse that I did this under the threat of blackmail and exposure.”
The tribunal heard that the complaint against Dr. Patel arose while the patient was reportedly experiencing “a period of psychosis.”
General Medical Council barrister Robin Kitching argued that the surgeon should be struck off due to concerns he had not shown “sufficient understanding” of why he behaved as he did, raising fears he could repeat the misconduct.
