High-profile medical professionals’ abuse in a healthcare setting

Recent cases include that of senior heart surgeon Amal Bose who was jailed last month for sexually assaulting junior female members of staff. 

Commitments on sexual safety in healthcare 

NHS organisations must comply with the sexual safety in healthcare organisational charter.  

This was published in 2023 by NHS England with the aim of promoting a zero-tolerance approach towards sexual misconduct.  Compliance with this is more than just writing a sexual safety policy or even carrying out an audit; it is a process of learning and improvement, as was made clear by the latest letter to Trusts and Integrated Care Boards sent in August 2025.

When there are occurrences of abuse in a healthcare setting, it is vital that those affected should feel secure in their ability to make a report quickly and safely. 

It is really important that when such concerns are raised, they are always taken seriously, and investigated with an open mind, no matter the circumstances of the complainant or the seniority of the person about whom they have complained.

*The cases and enquiries we get indicate that both patients and staff continue to be failed to be properly protected from sexual violence and harassment in healthcare settings, including but not limited to NHS inpatient settings.

Also that it can be difficult to report concerns and complaints because the processes are opaque and concerns may not be treated with the seriousness and speed required.

Sexual safety still seems to be some way down the line compared with keeping services running, but this is a false dichotomy because if patients and staff are not properly safeguarded, including from other staff, patients will face more complex issues accessing services and staff will leave, leading to further staff shortages.

All abuse is unacceptable. There is no level of sexual misconduct, harassment or misogyny that should be tolerated.

Justice for abuse survivors 

Settlements for abuse survivors 

Leigh Day has settled multiple cases for survivors of Dr Manish Shah, including one case that has just settled for £100,000 compensation.   

Records of intimate examinations should be kept and audited. In Dr Shah’s case, although he falsified records to give the impression that patients had wanted tests when in fact they submitted to his persuasion to have them, he did keep detailed records of many inappropriate breast, vaginal and anal examinations.   

If his notes had been audited, it would have become clear that he was conducting excessive intimate examinations without clinical justification.  Auditing of the tests he was ordering should also have given rise to concern, as he was ordering smear tests on patients who did not meet the clinical criteria and taking swabs and smears without sending off the samples for testing – so there would have been a mismatch between his records and the test results. 

Electronic patient records also offer opportunities to detect inappropriate access.

*This blog was updated in January 2026, in light of an article published in The Guardian which reported the sexual safety in healthcare organisational charter has so far failed to effectively tackle sexual harassment in NHS England. 

Other cases where Leigh Day has been helping survivors achieve justice: