A Bucks doctor who touched a colleague’s bottom and called her “sweetie” has been suspended from the medical register.

Dr Neil Graham, who worked as a consultant radiologist in Milton Keynes, was given a 12-month suspension order by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS).

The tribunal’s sanction, which took effect on January 5 and is pending an appeal period, prevents him from practising as a doctor in the UK.

Dr Graham’s fitness to practise was impaired because of his misconduct, said MPTS tribunal chair, Mr Julian Weinberg.

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The tribunal was advised to impose an immediate suspension order on Dr Graham on the grounds that it is “necessary for the protection of the public”.

The doctor’s misconduct related to two separate occasions at the BMI Saxon Clinic, Eaglestone, Coffee Hall, Milton Keynes, where he last worked in 2019.

The tribunal heard how in 2017 Dr Graham slapped ‘Colleague A’ on the bottom in his office at the clinic, which it was found amounted to unlawful sexual harassment.

He was also found to have pulled the female staff member into his office by her wrist after telling her to “come in sweetie”, or words to that effect. The tribunal found this did not amount to sexual harassment.

In another incident in 2019, Dr Graham was found to have rubbed his hand across Colleague A’s bottom cheek(s) in a reporting room.

The tribunal heard how he held his hand on the woman’s bottom and that when she stepped away, he repositioned his hand and said “oh sweetie, I’ve not finished yet” or words to that effect.

Allegations that the consultant locked the door to the reporting room and turned off the lights during the incident were not proved.

Dr Graham had his practicing privileges suspended at the clinic following the allegations, before his practicing privileges were withdrawn following an internal investigation.

He was previously a member of the pastoral care team for the University of Buckingham Medical School.

Dr Graham, who qualified from the University of Leeds in 1977, was dismissed by the Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Trust in July 2020.

A spokesperson for The Saxon Clinic, said: “It would be inappropriate for us to comment as proceedings are ongoing.

“We expect the highest standards of professional and personal conduct from the doctors that practice with us.

“The doctor in question has not worked at the hospital since 2019. Throughout we have been working closely with regulatory bodies and the appropriate authorities.”