Dentist struck off for offering to perform female circumcision
- Details
- Published: Monday, 02 September 2013 07:51
- Written by News Editor
- Hits: 2038
A dentist has been struck off by the General Dental Council (GDC) following a public hearing at which it was found proved that he conducted an inappropriate intimate examination on a woman and offered to perform female circumcision on two children. The allegations against Omar Sheikh Mohamed Addow were heard by the GDC’s Professional Conduct Committee.
.
The charges he faced included:
- Meeting with a woman at his surgery (the woman was subsequently identified as an undercover journalist), and despite not being a doctor registered with the GMC; conducting an examination of her breasts, her abdomen and her vagina;
- Inserting his finger or fingers into her vagina.
- Offering to perform female circumcision, otherwise known as 'female genital mutilation', upon two children.
The Committee found:
"Mr Addow’s conduct fell far short of the standards expected of a registered dental practitioner when he performed an intimate examination upon the journalist in his dental surgery. He also acted in a manner that was totally unacceptable for a registered dentist when he talked with her about, and planned to perform, FGM on two children. The Committee found that his actions breached fundamental tenets of the profession and amounted to misconduct.
Mr Addow abused the trust and confidence that patients and the public are entitled to have in the profession. FGM is an illegal procedure. The Committee accepted expert evidence that FGM is an unnecessary, dangerous and disfiguring procedure that would have caused physical and psychological harm to the two children upon whom he proposed to perform it.
It was clear from the evidence presented to the Committee that Mr Addow had considerable prior knowledge of female circumcision and possessed equipment for carrying it out. He discussed the procedure with the journalist, planned it, assessed the risks involved and took a premeditated and calculated decision to proceed with it.
The Committee has seen no evidence of remorse, insight or a change in attitude, and in a police interview Mr Addow continued to deny the allegations in relation to FGM. He has failed to engage with the process of this hearing. In the light of all of this, the Committee has concluded that there is a real risk of repetition".
Unless Mr Addow, who was immediately suspended, exercises his right of appeal, his name will be removed from the register in 28 days’ time.
You need to be logged in to leave comments.
Report