A tribunal has cleared a Pakistani-origin doctor of misconduct after he accepted that his alleged ‘sexually motivated’ comments on his colleagues were inappropriate.
Siddick Dulloo, 69, who originally hails from Karachi, was accused of referring to his colleagues as “beautiful things”. He compared a nurse and a doctor to the sun and the moon in an eclipse and wished he could stand between them.
The associate specialist in renal medicine worked at North Manchester General Hospital and has retired.
“I am just jealous I couldn’t come in the middle – I wish I was a sister or a nurse so I could have joined you,” he allegedly said, referring to a doctor and a nurse in conversation.
“White folk spend thousands of pounds going abroad to look at beautiful things,” he said in Urdu in another incident before continuing in English, “I was thinking they could just spend £2 and come to North Manchester Hospital.”
The hospital staff complained that they would feel uncomfortable with Dulloo who would make ‘grunting’ and ‘groaning’ noises. He was also accused of taking a photo of his female colleague on his mobile phone.
However, Dulloo’s counsel Christopher Gillespie said his client’s comments were indeed misguided, but there was no attempt to demean or abuse his position.
“It was merely a misguided comment which was not received in the manner in which it was intended. He made some regrettable comments but it was certainly not Dr Dulloo’s intention to treat his colleagues with disrespect.”
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service felt the grunting and groaning noises could be a result of his ‘low tonal voice’ and concluded he had ‘accidentally’ taken the mobile phone picture while swiping a screen.
Tribunal chair Nicholas Flanagan said: “English was not Dr Dulloo’s first language and he may have expressed himself in a clumsy and inappropriate fashion”.
