A DOCTOR fondled the breasts of six women patients at his surgery over a five-month period, a court heard yesterday.
Dr Parag Bhatt, 44, denies seven offences of sexual assault at the Rosehill Medical Centre in Rawmarsh, Rotherham, where he worked from January last year.
Prosecutor Sarah Wright told Sheffield Crown Court that the doctor touched the women's breas
ts in an inappropriate manner that was not medically justifiable.
A 37-year-old woman made two separate complaints against Dr Bhatt.
On one occasion she went to see the GP with breathing problems. He put his stethoscope inside her bra and had a "little feel around", she said.
On the second occasion he put his hand inside her bra and brushed her nipple.
Another 20-year-old woman who went in with stomach pains and sickness was told she might be pregnant.
Dr Bhatt performed an internal examination and asked if he could examine her breasts, which he rubbed while she was naked, she said.
A 37-year-old woman who visited the surgery with a suspected broken finger said the GP asked her about her sex life.
When she said she needed a repeat prescription, he put his stethoscope on to her breasts, lifting one up out of the bra, Miss Wright said.
A 17-year-old who went to see Dr Bhatt with dry skin around her nipple said he started to play with her breasts and was breathing heavily.
A 22-year-old woman went to see Dr Bhatt shortly after giving birth to her first child.
Dr Bhatt said she needed an internal examination.
As she removed her underwear she said he looked at her "in a way which made her feel embarrassed and awkward".
He then reached inside her bra in a "groping" motion, making the woman feel as if she had been assaulted.
The final complainant, a 31-year-old woman, had been trying for a baby and went to the doctor with stomach pains.
The doctor said she might have an infection and played with her right breast. He took it out of her bra and started to "tweak" her nipple before telling her "no, you are not pregnant".
The doctor was arrested in October last year and maintained in police interviews that he had not sexually assaulted any of the women.
The prosecution says the women came forward independently and each made similar allegations.
Miss Wright said: "It is too much of a coincidence."
Dr Bhatt, of Broom Lane, Rotherham has not practised as a GP since the complaints were made last year.
The trial continues.
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