Fabrizio De Rita, a leading heart surgeon known for performing lifesaving operations on children, has been struck off the medical register following allegations of sexually harassing and groping a colleague.
The disciplinary hearing panel found that De Rita had inappropriately touched a staff member, grabbing her breast over her scrubs and bra, which could be considered a criminal sexual assault. The panel also concluded that De Rita had sexually harassed the woman over an eight-month period.
De Rita, who served as a consultant paediatric surgeon at Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service. His actions were deemed to have abused his senior position within the prestigious cardiothoracic department.
The tribunal panel, chaired by Debi Gould, noted that De Rita’s behavior constituted a failure to respect the dignity of his colleague and amounted to sexual harassment. The misconduct occurred between May 2022 and January 2023 and included making inappropriate gestures, pulling the colleague’s chair towards him in a meeting room, sending unwanted WhatsApp messages, and physically touching her.
The panel determined that the allegations were mostly proven, with exceptions for some gestures and messages, and found that moving the chair was not sexually motivated.
Suspended by the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust the day after the complaint, De Rita was deemed unfit to practice medicine in the UK. Miss Gould stated that his conduct was “fundamentally incompatible” with continued registration and that being struck off was the only appropriate sanction due to the seriousness of the misconduct and the risk of recurrence.
The tribunal highlighted that De Rita’s senior position and experience should have led him to set a better example. They emphasized that professional colleagues deserve to work in an environment where they are treated with dignity and respect.
A recent Care Quality Commission inspection revealed a history of issues within the cardiothoracic department, including sexism, bullying, and inappropriate behavior.
Following De Rita’s removal, a Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust spokesperson affirmed their commitment to maintaining a safe work environment and zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior, regardless of the perpetrator’s role or seniority.
