A tribunal has issued a six-month suspension to a consultant clinical radiologist from a top U.K. cancer hospital who committed sex acts repeatedly during an-hour long train journey in full view of other passengers.
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) hearing about the conduct of Dr. Mark Elias lasted for a full seven working days, ending on 30 January. Its 38-page report goes into elaborate detail about his interactions with a 38-year-old man and its impact on other passengers.
As reported by AuntMinnieEurope on 7 March 2025, Elias pleaded guilty to outraging public decency at a court hearing and received an eight-week jail sentence, suspended for 12 months. In addition, he now faces a six-month suspension from his job at the Christie National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust in Manchester.
Key findings of tribunal
The MPTS tribunal heard that on the evening of 29 September 2024, the two men “proceeded to commit sexual acts with each other repeatedly throughout the entire journey,” and “only when warned by the conductor did their behaviour cease.”
Elias told the tribunal that he and his co-defendant were not a couple but that they had been to a number of bars together in Manchester's Gay Village, according to a report posted on 6 February by the Warrington Guardian, a local newspaper in north-west England.
Elias claimed his drink was “spiked” with alcohol or drugs “at some point during the day, allegedly using a 'smoky substance,' although it is not clear whether this was a part of the court case,” the article noted. It added that the tribunal said “although there was no mention of spiking in the presentencing report by the probation service, he was sure he mentioned it on several occasions.”
The alleged spiking of his drink led to Elias' loss of memory and his subsequent acts on the train journey, according to the defence. However, the tribunal found that Elias' evidence on this issue was contradictory and concluded that his drink was not spiked.
The tribunal also found that “there was common ground between the parties that a period of suspension was the appropriate and proportionate sanction in a case involving a conviction such as this,” the Warrington Guardian reported.
Risk to patients?
At the tribunal, Elias’ lawyer, Malcom Fortune, said his client “is still held in high esteem by professional colleagues, especially the clinical team at The Christie" and Elias was full of remorse and had taken remedial steps.
Fortune argued that in his client's role as a consultant clinical radiologist, Elias "posed no risk to patients, especially given that his clinical role has little to no face-to-face contact with patients." However, the tribunal disagreed and ruled that "the level of risk and seriousness remained at the higher end."
The testimony of one of Elias' colleagues (referred to as "Dr. I") described the work of the molecular imaging team and Elias' role as one of six consultants who are "trained specialists in radiology and nuclear medicine; that the services provided by that department were high sub-specialised and require extensive additional training and that Dr. Elias was trained to deliver a number of MRT therapeutics to patients."
Dr. I stated that "these highly specialised skills were rare, difficult to replace and in high demand nationally" and that "retaining Mark’s expertise is essential, not only for continuity of service but also for providing cross cover during periods of consultant absence. Any reduction in cover would directly impact patient care within an already overstretched NHS service."
General Medical Council representative Alex Mullen told the tribunal that Elias "gave a developing account of what occurred and sought to minimise his role and culpability." He said that "the medical profession would be shocked and appalled if a finding of impairment were not made in this case."
To ensure public confidence in the profession and to promote and maintain proper professional standards, the tribunal concluded that "a period of conditional registration would not be a sufficient sanction" and that "the seriousness of Dr. Elias’ conviction and the actions which led to that conviction cannot be addressed with a period of conditional registration."
You can download the documentation from the tribunal on the MPTS website.
