General Medical Council v Dr Chitlapalli Sathyanath

Facts

Dr Chitlapalli Sathyanath, a GP partner in Gosport with an oncology background, saw Patient A, a 53-year-old woman with a history of breast cancer, on 13 September 2022 for follow-up of stomach pains. Afterwards she complained to the police, who raised concerns with the GMC. The GMC alleged that during an abdominal examination he (a) placed his right hand inside her knickers, (b) brushed it over her pubic bone region, and (c) and (d) moved it to each side of her groin. It also alleged that this was an intimate examination done without offering a chaperone or obtaining consent, and that his actions were not clinically indicated and were sexually motivated. He admitted the groin movements and the chaperone and consent failures, and denied the rest. At a hearing between 16 and 23 June 2025, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal accepted Patient A's account and found allegations 1(a) and (b) proved on 18 June 2025. It found it not proved that the actions were not clinically indicated, and not proved that they were sexually motivated. On 20 June 2025 it found serious misconduct but no impairment of fitness to practise, and on 23 June 2025 it gave a warning. The GMC appealed to the High Court under section 40A of the Medical Act 1983.