A former NHS doctor accused of sexually touching patients has revealed he feels “distressed” by the allegations against him after he “saved the life” of his accuser.

Dr Salman Quereshi has questioned “why a human being would do that to another human being” after two of his patients accused him of sexual assault, alleged to have taken place at Wycombe Hospital and Stoke Mandeville Hospital in 2005 and 2017.

41-year-old Quereshi, of Eleanor Gardens in Aylesbury, has been charged with three counts of sexual assault. He denies all three charges.

READ MORE: Doctor on trial for ‘sexually touching’ patients at two Bucks hospitals

Denying the allegations against him whilst giving evidence at Amersham Law Courts this morning, Quereshi was asked by prosecutor Matthew Rowcliffe why his accuser would “tell a lie” about the accusations.

Quereshi said: “I have been asking myself this for three-and-a-half years, but I can’t think why.

“I find it very disturbing and very distressing, to want to send someone to prison for the rest of their life after they saved their life.

“I thought about it and what it could be, and if it could be a real reason.

“I can’t believe that one human being would do that to another human being.”

Earlier in the trial, the court heard from one of the alleged victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, that Quereshi sexually touched her “multiple times” while they were alone together in a hospital ward in August 2017.

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In a police recorded interview, the complainant said: “He was a doctor so I was not sure what to do, I knew he shouldn’t be doing it but I didn’t say anything, I just froze because I didn’t know what to do or say.”

Giving evidence on today, Quereshi, who was 38 at the time of this alleged incident, denied he was ever alone with the patient.

He said: “The nurse was there glued to the patient.

“There were two trained nurses glued to her.”

The alleged victim told the court that Quereshi started touching her inappropriately after he had started massaging her legs. The jury was told that the complainant was suffering with severe muscle pain.

When Mr Rowcliffe asked if Quereshi had touched the patients’ legs, arms and face, he said: “Yes, normally the skin is soft and the muscles are relaxed.

“They were as hard as a rock at that time.”

Quereshi denied that he had touched her inappropriately. He said: “There was no reason for me to touch her hair. I may well have touched her shoulder, just for reassurance, not for any other purpose.

“She was terrified and needed reassuring.”

When Mr Rowcliffe asked if Quereshi touched the patient’s bare skin or over her clothes, he said: “I cannot be sure about that.”

At the time Quereshi was charged in 2019, Bucks Healthcare Trust confirmed that he was no longer employed by them.

Quershi is charged with one count of sexual assault by touching and two counts of assault by penetration. He denies the charges against him.

The trial continues.

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