'Hypnotic' doctor faces new sexual misconduct panel
Dr Neill Charles Garrard was accused by a woman in Southampton of "sexual chanting" and telling her "you will lust for me", while a woman in Lewisham said he made her undress unnecessarily and used a "weird... soothing voice".
In December, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) found the allegations not proved.
However, a High Court judge has quashed the decision, saying the panel wrongly applied the law on the cross-admissibility of similar evidence from complainants.
In March 2021, Dr Garrard treated a woman at Royal South Hants Hospital after she complained of migraines and twice passed out.
The patient, who had a mental health diagnosis, accused him of "hypnosis-style chanting" and telling her she would "lust for me" and "love me and kiss me", the court was told.
The locum registrar also asked her to undress and squeezed her nipple, it was heard.
A second vulnerable woman was treated in December 2021 at University Hospital Lewisham in London.
Dr Garrard asked her to undress, spoke in a hypnotic way and told her to wait for him after work, she alleged.
However, he denied the accusations, telling the medical panel the women were unreliable witnesses due to their mental disorders.
Dismissing the charges, the tribunal found "very substantial differences" between the two cases.
It said: "Having found neither allegation of speaking or chanting in a hypnotic way to have been proved, it would not be correct to conclude that either allegation supported the credibility of the other."
However, in his judgement, Mr Justice MacDonald said the tribunal had wrongly interpreted the law.
He said: "It is not necessary to find one allegation to be proved before relying upon the evidence in respect of that allegation in support of the other allegation.
"Had the Tribunal not fallen into error in these respects, it might have made a different decision."
The judge said both vulnerable women had accused the doctor of controlling behaviour, speaking in a "distinctive repetitive manner" and making them undress inappropriately.
He ordered a new tribunal to be convened at a later date.
You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
9 hours ago
- New York Post
I found out I had colon cancer after a scary surprise at the gym
Personal trainer Bill Maeda, 56, has always been pretty high energy. He was only 7 or 8 years old when he first started working out, inspired by the speed and athleticism of Bruce Lee — and his muscles. 'I had never seen muscles,' he said. 'I was blown away by that. He just looks so deadly.' And it was while doing his job — training at the gym — in 2012 that he realized something was seriously wrong, sending him to the hospital to discover he had Stage 3 colon cancer. 4 Bill Maeda is a fitness coach with 2.3 million followers on Instagram. But he didn't shy away from explaining how some of his lifestyle choices — like diet and sleep — might have contributed to his cancer. GORUCK Maeda was working on some martial arts moves with a client, who kept practicing his kicks against a pad Maeda had over his stomach. When he went to the bathroom, there was blood — a lot of blood. 'Apparently, when he kicked me, the cancerous lesion that I had tore,' he said. He went to the ER, where he was put into immediate surgery. 'Knowing what I know now, I would have gone in way sooner than I did,' he said. It's not that Maeda didn't have symptoms before — they were just easy to brush off as something else. Living in Los Angeles and working as a trainer in gyms and on movie sets, he appeared to be the picture of good health. When he started to have 'weird bowel movements' in his 40s, he attributed the change to his eating choices. 4 'When I was told I had cancer, I did what I always do: I went numb,' he said. 'My diet was so god awful back then,' he said. 'I was eating like two pints of ice cream. And probably my diet had a lot to do with [the cancer]. But I just thought that my system was becoming intolerant of my already really bad diet. Because, back then, I was eating boxes of macadamia chocolate. I mean, it was bad.' 'I am in the best shape of my life now because I'm putting the energy into recovery from what I'm doing.' Bill Maeda Surprised? According to Maeda, it's actually not all that uncommon in the world of personal trainers. 'You should see the behind-the-scenes on us,' he said. 'We're like serial killers, where you think we're just normal and we're real and then we go home and we have this altered life. When I think of the amount of sugar and garbage that I was eating — it was a mental illness. It was a full-on disorder.' 4 'My diet was so god awful back then,' he said. GORUCK His only other real symptom was a pain that developed in his solar plexus, which would sometimes get so bad he'd have to double over — a move he would try to hide by pretending he was just examining his clients' foot positions. 'When I would go into that position, the pain would dissipate,' he said. 'And it never occurred to me, well, after that happens a few hundred times, maybe you should go to a doctor. No, I kept just denying it.' He also figured he wasn't really much of a candidate for cancer since it didn't run in his family, although he admits he was a 'troubled soul' in high school who smoked cigarettes and 'experimented pretty heavily' with methamphetamines. But he still believes the 'biggest mistake' he made was routinely neglecting sleep. 4 'Apparently, when he kicked me, the cancerous lesion that I had tore,' he said. 'I had trained myself in high school to operate on small amounts of sleep because I thought that's what it required to be a special forces guy,' he said. 'If you're a real tough guy, you can get by on less sleep than everybody else, eating less food, bad food, etc.' When he got his cancer diagnosis, he admits he never worried about death: 'I took it one day at a time and always assumed things would be alright,' he said. His assumption turned out to be right: He's been cancer-free for 13 years now and he feels better than ever. For one thing, getting cancer made him clean up his diet and prioritize rest. He also trains less often and less hard than he used to. So, then, how does he maintain 8% body fat? 'People say, 'How do you get your body fat level so low if your diet is random? You don't seem to have a really strict cardio or whatever program,'' he said. 'Since I was in high school, I have never had a job that required me to sit.' Maeda — who is a brand ambassador for Go Ruck — only trains 20 to 30 minutes a day, and he varies it up, sharing his minimalist, rucking-based routines with his 2.3 million followers on Instagram and his 1.5 million followers on TikTok. 'I am in the best shape of my life now because I'm putting the energy into recovery from what I'm doing,' he said.
a day ago
Jessie J hospitalized for infection following breast cancer surgery
Jessie J was hospitalized for an infection six weeks after undergoing surgery following her breast cancer diagnosis. The singer updated fans on her Instagram story Saturday, sharing a photo of an IV in her arm. 'How I spent the last 24 hours,' she wrote. '6 weeks post surgery and I was back in the same ward I was after my surgery. Not expected or planned. I had and still have symptoms that pointed towards a blood clot on the lung.' 'IT IS NOT A BLOOD CLOT THANK GOD,' she continued. 'They ran a lot of tests, which ended up showing I have an infection (still trying to figure out what) and a little fluid on my lungs.' 'Finding it hard to breathe in, but I discharged myself last night (I hate being in hospital) and will continue the investigation as an outpatient,' she wrote. In another post, Jessie J opened up about her health journey, writing, 'I know many people who will have gone through this or similar may agree with me on this or not and that's ok.' 'But I know for me, the true hard journey of this whole thing physically was the day I went into surgery. The recovery physically is far from quick or easy, and mentally it's been the most challenging time for me,' she continued. The singer, who welcomed her son, Sky Safir Cornish Colman, in May 2023 with boyfriend Chanan Safir Colman, also spoke about the impact of her health on motherhood and her career. "Especially as a Mum with a toddler and being unable to be the mother I usually am,' she wrote. 'And having to change the plans for my career for this year has been frustrating after working so hard to get to this point and excited to do it all.' She added, 'But it's life, I know that. And don't get me wrong getting the all clear was and is incredible. But that result didn't speed up or make the recovery from the surgery any easier physically.' She went on to share that her journey was a reminder 'to myself to slow tf down.' 'This isn't a speedy recovery. And it isn't meant to be,' she said. 'As an adhd Aries fire breathing dragon t rex, I can do it myself, I'm always ok woman. That slow pace has been a hard reality to accept tbh. I love moving and working and being up and active but I can't be right now, and that's what it is.' 'And I am finding the strength in knowing that all can be adjusted to align with a slower pace and the support of my very small inner support Thank you,' she concluded. Earlier in June, Jessie J revealed she had been diagnosed with "early breast cancer" in an Instagram reel. "I'm highlighting the word 'early.' Cancer sucks in any form, but I'm holding on to the word 'early,'" she said at the time, adding that she was going to "disappear for a bit to have my surgery," promising that she will "come back with massive t--s and more music." Later that month, she shared an update post-surgery on June 23, documenting the process with a series of photos on Instagram. In the caption, she described the post as showing 'some of the honest lows and highs of the last 48 hours.' 'I will always show the good and hard bits of any journey I go through,' she wrote. 'Grateful to my doctor / surgeon and all the nurses who cared for me and all my family / friends who came to visit. 🫂 I am home now, to rest and wait for my results 🤞🏻' 'Still hugging everyone going through something tough right now. We all got this! 🫂🫀🔋,' she added. Over the years, Jessie J has been open about her health, sharing her experiences with a heart condition she was diagnosed with as a child, as well as a miscarriage in 2021. She has also been diagnosed with an inner-ear disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
Massachusetts woman hit with five-figure medical bill after a wild bat flew into her mouth on vacation
A woman on vacation whose employee-sponsored health plan had lapsed after recently being being laid off wound up with over $20,000 in medical bills after a bat flew into her mouth. Erica Kahn, 33, was visiting Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona last August when the horror encounter with the winged mammal took place. 3 Erica Khan is now rabies-free, but still struggling to get out from under nearly $20,000 in medical bills after a horrific encounter with a wild bat. ekahn92/Instagram The former biomedical engineer noticed a number of bats flying around while she was outside taking pictures of the night sky, but didn't think much of it. That is, until one got too close for comfort, winding up trapped between her camera and face. When she screamed in terror, an unknown part of the bat wound up in her mouth for a few seconds. Her father, a physician who had been traveling with her, said she should immediately start a course of rabies treatments, even though she wasn't sure if she had been bitten. She quickly went online to purchase a medical insurance plan before going to a hospital in Flagstaff to begin treatments — under the impression it would cover her two-week course of rabies shots, which she received at clinics in Arizona, Massachusetts and Colorado, KFF reported. But her biggest shock of all came when the bill arrived, showing she owed $20,749 between the four facilities — for treatment including four doses of the rabies vaccines and three shots of immunoglobulin to increase antibodies against the virus, which is fatal if left untreated. 3 Bats account for around 33% of the 4,000 animal rabies cases reported in the US each year. If left untreated, the rabies virus is fatal to humans. Ivan Kuzmin – She didn't realize the insurance plan she had purchased a day before starting treatment required a 30-day waiting period before coverage would kick in, an explanation-of-benefits letter she got in the mail grimly explained. 'I thought it must have been a mistake,' she told the outlet. 'I guess I was naive.' 3 Khan had been traveling with her father, a physician, who urged her to seek out rabies treatments after a bat flew into her mouth while she was taking pictures at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona. GoFundMe After being laid off from her engineer position the previous month, she opted against keeping her insurance under COBRA for $650 a month, rolling the dice she would not wind up facing an unexpected medical emergency. Khan told the outlet she's since gotten a new job and once again has health insurance. She's negotiated some of the bills down a bit, but says she still owed more than $19,000 for her treatments — which she said she plans to continue appealing. Despite her horrifying encounter with wildlife — ripped from the stuff of nightmares — Khan said it hasn't put a damper on her love for the great outdoors. 'I know what bats taste like now. It's an earthy, sweet kind of flavor,' she joked to the outlet. 'It's actually a pretty funny story — if it weren't for the horrible medical bill that came with it.' Around 4,000 animal rabies cases are reported each year in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — with less than 10 people dying of the virus per annum. More than 90% occur in animals like skunks, raccoons, foxes and bats. Bats account for the highest proportion of reported animal rabies cases, at 33%.
