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A former doctor who was struck off for touching a patient's breasts has chaired a sexual misconduct hearing after being employed by a GP group.

Mr Sudheer Shabir, who is currently on the Pennine GP Alliance's Board and serves as their Central Halifax PCN manager, was previously a junior doctor.

In 2022, a tribunal was held against him by the General Medical Council, after a patient accused him of sexual misconduct during his foundation year two.

Patient A, who was prone to tonsillitis, was assessed by Mr Shabir on September 23, 2019, amid complaints she was 'feeling dizzy' and had a 'sore throat'.

The woman then accused Mr Shabir of lifting her sweatshirt above her breasts and touching her.

Patient A disclosed the incident to her mother because she was unsure if what had happened was 'right or not'. She then reported the incident to the GP surgery.

A tribunal found it was not clinically indicated that Mr Shabir carry out further examination and that his actions were 'sexually motivated'.

In July 2023, he attempted to appeal the findings at the High Court, but the outcome was upheld, and he was removed from the medical register.

Now, the Daily Mail can reveal he has since been hired as a senior manager by Pennine GP Alliance.

Mr Sudheer Shabir (pictured) is now a senior manager at Pennine GP Alliance. He was previously struck off as a junior doctor following a tribunal into sexual misconduct

The General Medical Council found Mr Shabir, who was then a junior doctor, decision to touch a patient's breasts was 'sexually motivated'

Pennine GP Alliance is a member-led healthcare organisation, which includes 19 GP practices across the Calderdale area in northern England. The group, which is a limited company, is partially funded by the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) - an NHS organisation.

It is understood Mr Shabir chaired an internal hearing within the Pennine GP Alliance concerning allegations of sexual misconduct.

A source told the Daily Mail that staff were unaware of Mr Shabir's background until earlier this year, and the findings have raised concerns.

'The issue is, how could you have him working in an organisation where most of the staff are women,' the source added.

Meanwhile, the GP group has openly and regularly declared its support for White Ribbon UK.

White Ribbon is a charity which commits itself to preventing violence against women by engaging men and boys in preventing harmful gender norms.

The main 'disappointment' has come from their employers, the insider said.

They claim bosses were aware of Mr Shabir's background when they hired him around two years ago.

'I think most of the disappointment is on the employer,' they said. 'Shabir doesn't owe us anything, but his employer does. Someone with his background brought into an organisation like this, puts every staff member at risk.'

It comes after an allegation of sexual misconduct was initially brought against a then-Dr Shabir following a consultation on Patient A on September 23, 2019.

The woman had been seen by the junior doctor amid complaints she was 'feeling dizzy' and had a 'sore throat'.

Patient A was said to be 'alert' and 'orientated' at the time by Dr Shabir. The tribunal found she was not too unwell that her recollection would have been impacted. She described feeling 'sweaty and feverish', despite her temperature readings coming back as normal.

In a witness statement, taken on May 11, 2021, Patient A said that she was wearing a 'hoody' with just a bra underneath.

According to her account, Dr Shabir examined her chest with a stethoscope at the neckline and 'kept moving the stethoscope further down [her] chest'.

She explained Dr Shabir said he needed to do a full chest examination and asked her to lift her sweatshirt so that he could examine the bottom half of her chest.

'He then put his hand inside my bra to touch the underside of my breasts and feel around them,' her statement read.

After returning home, Patient A was not sure if what had happened was 'right or not', and discussed the matter with her mother, who said it was not.

She then called the practice, and returned on September 24, 2019, with her father to discuss the matter with the Practice Manager.

After receiving a response from Dr Shabir to her written account, she reported the incident to police on November 6, 2019. In an interview with police, she said the junior doctor used his hands 'not the stethoscope' when touching her breasts.

Shabir voluntarily attended a police interview on December 3 of that year following the allegation of sexual assault. No further action was taken.

He later referred himself to the GMC on December 11, 2019, where a tribunal found he put his hand inside the patient's bra and touched the underside of her breasts - when it was not clinically indicated he carry out further examination.

He also failed to obtain Patient A's verbal consent, offer her a chaperone, offer her privacy to get undressed and dressed, ask her to remove her bra, as well as explain the nature and purpose of his actions or record his actions on her medical records, the panel found.

The GMC found his actions during both parts of the consultation were 'sexually motivated' and that his actions fell 'below the standard expected'.

They added his behaviour was 'fundamentally incompatible' with his continued practice as a doctor, so he was to be removed from the medical register.

Mr Shabir later made a High Court bid to appeal the decision that his touching of Patient A's breast was sexually motivated. His appeal was dismissed on all grounds.

A Pennine GP Alliance spokesperson said: 'Pennine GP Alliance follows good recruitment practices and keeps robust safeguarding measures under constant review to ensure everyone encountering our organisation is safe.

'We adhere to robust disciplinary processes, with decisions involving multiple individuals supported by HR and legal specialists, ensuring compliance with our policies and ACAS guidance.'

It is understood Pennine GP Alliance is partially funded to deliver scale activity of general practice by West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, NHS England and the local authority.