Indian-origin heart surgeon guilty of sexual offences jailed for 6 years in UK

London, Sep 17 (PTI) An Indian-origin heart surgeon convicted of abusing his position to sexually assault female members of staff at a National Health Service (NHS) hospital in northern England has been jailed for six years.

Dr Amal Krishna Bose, 55, was convicted of 12 counts of sexual assault, including inappropriate touching and making sexualised comments to five female members of staff at the Blackpool Victoria Hospital in Lancashire between 2017 and 2022.

Lancashire Constabulary said he had been sentenced at Preston Crown Court on Monday after a jury found him guilty at the end of a trial in June. Bose had denied the charges, claiming his actions were just “flirting” and “workplace banter”.

“Everyone should feel able to go to work and feel safe, confident and secure, but Mr Bose has undermined that by abusing his position of power to sexually assault these female members of staff and by doing so has caused enormous damage,” said Detective Chief Inspector Kirsty Wyatt of Lancashire police.

"I would like to thank the victims for having the courage to come forward and speak about what happened to them – that cannot have been easy. While he may have considered his behaviour as merely flirting, Mr Bose’s actions have clearly had a deep and lasting impact on his victims and in some cases has caused them to abandon the profession they loved,” she said.

During the course of the trial, Bose was described as the root cause of a toxic and sexualised culture at the hospital.

"Amal Bose was in a trusted position at the hospital. He abused this by creating a toxic environment, making sexual comments, and sexually assaulting five women who worked at the hospital," said Sacha Coyne, Senior Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) North West’s Rape and Serious Sexual Offence Unit.

"He appeared not to recognise the serious and lasting impact his actions would have, describing his behaviour at trial as 'workplace banter'. I would like to thank the women for supporting the prosecution, and I hope now Bose has been brought to justice they can find some closure,” he said.

At the sentencing hearing this week, the women's victim statements were read to the court to assist the judge on reaching a sentence. One woman described suffering from panic attacks and anxiety as a result of the offences, another spoke of feeling isolated and vulnerable and having self-harmed as a coping mechanism.

The court also heard how some of the women had taken time off sick due to the surgeon's actions or even left their roles to avoid him. They told the judge about feeling unsafe at work and less trusting of male colleagues.

"Our thoughts remain with all those affected by the actions of Mr Bose, and we thank our staff for the bravery and courage they have shown throughout the police investigation and trial of Mr Bose,” said Maggie Oldham, Chief Executive at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals.

“We have been truly shocked and saddened by the experiences of the victims, and we will now be supporting all colleagues as we move forward together,” she said.

Before the complaints surfaced, Bose was head of the cardiovascular surgery department at the Blackpool Victoria Hospital. He had been suspended by the NHS Trust managing the hospital, which had approached the police in March 2023 in connection with the allegations before charges were filed in May last year. PTI AK ZH ZH