nearly 80% held positions of authority.
A review has found that nearly a quarter of doctors found guilty of sexual misconduct are being allowed to continue practising after a period of suspension.
The review of Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) cases revealed that nearly 24% ended in suspension rather than erasure from the medical register.
These doctors had been found guilty of sexual misconduct or accused of sexual assault, harassment, or offences against children.
Consultant vascular surgeon Mei Nortley, lead author of the research, warned that “allowing rapists, sexual predators and those who use manipulation and coercion to return as practising doctors” brings “professional standards and public confidence into question”.
The findings, published in The Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), analysed 222 new MPTS cases between August 2023 and August 2024.
Of these, 55 cases involved sexual misconduct.
Nine doctors were found not guilty or not impaired to practise at tribunal. Of the 46 remaining cases, the MPTS followed the recommendations of the General Medical Council (GMC) in most decisions.
However, in 11 of those cases, the GMC called for the doctors to be struck off. The MPTS instead imposed suspensions.
Professor Vivien Lees, vice president of the RCS, said the findings “risk leaving perpetrators in power”.
All 46 doctors were male, and nearly 80% held positions of authority.
The review follows similar concerns raised in a separate paper in the British Medical Journal.
One case earlier in 2025 saw an acute medical consultant found guilty of rape but given a 12-month suspension. The tribunal panel described it as a “one-off event.”
In 2024, a transplant surgeon was suspended for eight months after being found guilty of non-consensual touching during surgery.
In another case, a doctor who pursued a sexual relationship with a vulnerable patient he had “pursued and groomed from the age of 14” received a 12-month suspension. The tribunal claimed he had shown “insight, remediation and remorse.”
In all of these cases, the GMC had argued for erasure.
Tamzin Cuming and Professor Carrie Newlands, from the working party on sexual misconduct in surgery, said:
“Right now, the system gives little more than a slap on the wrist for abuse, when only erasure and accountability can ensure safety.”
The GMC said it maintains a “zero tolerance” stance on sexual misconduct.
It said in a statement: “We will often ask for the doctor to be struck off the medical register.
“Where we feel the sanctions applied by the independent tribunal are too lenient – we can, and do appeal.”
The MPTS said it recognises the weight of its decisions.
A spokesperson added: “We recognise the impact of our work and tribunal decisions on the lives of all those involved in our hearings.
“It is important that doctors have a fair hearing, that thoroughly assesses all the evidence presented by both the GMC and the doctor and that the tribunal comes to an impartial decision.
“We will soon publish a new suite of guidance for tribunals, covering all aspects of our hearings.”
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