Harley Street doctor faces suspension over discriminatory messages about Jewish colleagues

Dr Dimitris Psaroudakis told a friend: 'We need to stop making fun of the yews'
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Josh Salisbury20 December 2023

A Harley Street doctor who made offensive anti-Jewish remarks about his colleagues in online messages is facing suspension.

Dr Dimitris Psaroudakis, formerly a consultant gynaecologist at the Evewell fertility clinic on Harley Street, made repeated references to Jewish colleagues as "yews", suggested Hammersmith would be improved if it were "yew free", and referred to the clinic as "the temple".

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service heard how he referred to other colleagues as "alky", "big nose", and "leprechaun".

The fertility specialist, who qualified in 2002, also made an "appalling, disrespectful and morally reprehensible" joke about the suicide of a patient’s husband, writing: "He smelled her shoes?", the tribunal heard.

Hauled before a misconduct panel last week, Dr Psaroudakis said the comments had been intended as a "kind of silly inside joke" but that he accepted they were wrong.

In a ruling published on Wednesday, the panel found: "Rather than use someone’s name or work title, Dr Psaroudakis preferred to make unpleasant and unacceptable references to protected characteristics of colleagues.

"The Tribunal makes no finding that Dr Psaroudakis is a racist but is satisfied that he is someone who is quite comfortable with using discriminatory language."

The tribunal handed him a three-month suspension, which will take effect 28 days after the hearing, unless an appeal is lodged and decided.

The doctor resigned from his position at the clinic on September 28 last year after the messages came to light.

In mitigation, the tribunal heard Dr Psaroudakis had expressed genuine regret, remorse and apology, and had not sought to blame others.

It heard that he had engaged fully with the medical regulator and that he had completed courses "aimed at remediation and developing insight".

However, the panel said it could not take no action over messages as this would not be in the public interest.

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