Dr Tim Moriarty, 57, leaves a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing in Manchester earlier this month
A gynaecologist has been suspended for three months after jokingly referring to patients as ‘fallen women’ while carrying terminations at an abortion clinic.
Dr Tim Moriarty, 57, who worked in Northampton and Milton Keynes, left one patient in distress by telling her ‘not all women are put on this earth to have babies’ as she was awaiting a procedure.
As nurses looked on in shock, Moriarty – who had previously been warned twice about his inappropriate language – was said to have added: ‘Just because ISIS try to bomb us back to the dark ages, it doesn’t change anything. It’s a woman’s choice and don’t feel guilty about it.’
The remarks were made during a series of inappropriate jokes Moriarty made in front of female staff at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, where he was the only man on the team.
The NHS consultant obstetrician from Daventry, Northamptonshire, introduced himself to a new recruit, saying: ”Hi, I’m Dr Moriarty and I am tasked with looking after all the fallen women.’
He also suggested a midwife would be need of a sex toy after learning her husband was going abroad adding: ‘So the rabbit will be getting a good work out then.’
In a further incident he threw a four letter temper tantrum when he was unable to find a piece of medical equipment during a termination.
Moriarty worked at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service in Milton Keynes (file picture)
Moriarty was sent home in July 2017 after the midwife complained to the health trust claiming the jokes were ‘vile’ and ‘made her skin crawl.’
He left his job the following February following ten years in his post.
At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester, Moriarty – who had previously been given letters of advice about his ‘choice language’ in February 2010 and May 2013 – was found guilty of serious professional misconduct.
He denied his remarks were inappropriate and claimed some of his comments were made to ‘put patients at ease.’
But a colleague who overheard him refer to patients as ‘fallen women’ accused him ‘showing off’ adding: ‘Over all he is a very good doctor but if I was a patient, I would not like to hear him say something like that.
‘He said it in a jokey confident way and I understood it to mean that he looked after all the silly women in Milton Keynes who had got themselves into trouble.’
Tribunal chairman Mr Angus MacPherson said: ‘The Tribunal reached the view that Dr Moriarty was not speaking seriously when he uttered this remark.
‘He was introducing himself in a jokey manner but it was inappropriate of him to suggest that the women he looked after were ‘fallen women’.
‘It did not at all consider that this represented his philosophy – he just used loose language when performing this introduction of himself.
‘However this was a field of work which called for the utmost sensitivity and delicacy. Dr Moriarty’s choice of language did not begin to address that requirement.’
Referring to Moriarty’s encounter with the patient, Mr MacPherson said: ‘His words were uttered without reference to the sensitivities of the situation, without proper thought as to whether they were compassionate to the patient and indeed the staff.
‘The tribunal was fortified in this conclusion in that Dr Moriarty explained that on previous occasions he had used analogies of witches being burnt and Guy Fawkes being burnt, to show that society had moved on from treating people in a certain way.’
‘At a time when he should have been choosing words with great care and with great sensitivity, he was using phrases the meaning of which were not easy to understand and could easily upset and disturb.
‘They conveyed an image of violence, and were the very opposite of reassurance and compassion.
‘They were unlikely to instil confidence in a patient, who may be concerned as to whether she should go through with the procedure, that she had made the right choice and all would be well.
‘Other practitioners would regard his use of this language to a patient as deplorable.
‘There is a need to uphold standards of conduct and behaviour expected of members of the medical profession.
‘The Tribunal accepted Dr Moriarty was well regarded in BPAS as a surgeon, that he did care for his patients and was capable of forming good relationships with other members of staff.
‘However, he has not satisfied the Tribunal that he has addressed his shortcomings.’
The complaints against Dr Moriarty began in 2017 after he and a midwife known as Miss B repeatedly disagreed over correct procedures, patient numbers and allocated rest periods.
Giving evidence Miss B told the hearing: ‘Dr Moriarty was quite dismissive, if I didn’t understand something he would make me feel very small. He wanted things done in his own way, there was no bending.
‘We needed to resolve things, and we did get on, but he started to revert back to how he was before. I couldn’t work with him because of the way he made me feel. There was disharmony in the unit.’
She told Moriarty: ‘You would make comments about my uniform or my shoes. Things just built up to the point I had to sit down with you and have a conversation to try and understand how we were going to get on.
‘I found your behaviour to be unreasonable. I explained to you that you made us feel uncomfortable with your outbursts.
‘I didn’t do anything to deliberately make you angry. You were raising your voice. It’s not appropriate to be swearing to anybody.
‘I was in tears in the phone to the Director of Nursing, I broke down. I don’t believe that Muslims bomb us – that’s a generalisation. The patient didn’t make a comment but I was in shock and the healthcare assistant appeared to be staring into space.’
Moriarty said there was a ‘deliberate plan and a conspiracy’ to force him out of his job and claimed he had been treated unfairly by the BPAS.
He said: ‘When I introduce myself to clients I simply say ‘Hi, I’m Tim, welcome etc.’ I have not recently said anything on the lines of ‘I am tasked with looking after fallen women’. They are not fallen women. I may have said something like that four years ago, but not now.’