A FORMER government adviser has been disciplined after groping four female colleagues in a night club during a Christmas bash.
Professor Alistair Leanord was in a city centre club with fellow scientists from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) when the incidents took place, in December 2017.
Four female colleagues who worked alongside 56-year-old Leanord in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital complained after they were groped by the professor, who later said he had 'no recollection' of doing so.
NHSGGC bosses told the women they would investigate, but are believed to have said complainers would not be told of the outcome and the complaint would be handled informally.
An anonymous complaint was later submitted to the General Medical Council (GMC) regarding the microbiologist’s behaviour and subsequently investigated.
Leanord is understood to have continued working in the laboratory for some months after the Christmas night out, but now works as the director of the Scottish Microbiology Reference Laboratories based at the Royal Infirmary.
He is also the Clinical director at NHSGGC's department of laboratory medicine, honorary professor at the Institute of Infection Immunity & Inflammation at Glasgow University, and was a medical adviser to the Scottish Government until the end of 2018 - a year after the incidents took place.
Almost two years after the incidents, GMC watchdogs have now issued the scientist with a warning and said his conduct brought the profession into disrepute, but added that he would not be subject to further sanctions.
One former colleague told this newspaper the sanction was ‘not severe enough’.
The ex-colleague said the scientist had been known for his ‘touchy feely’ approach but it had been previously dismissed as ‘just Alistair’.
They told the Herald on Sunday: “These women complained during the time of the MeToo movement, because it was so public, there were witnesses to support them and they weren’t on their own, they felt empowered to do it.
"People dismissed previous behaviour, saying ‘That’s just Alistair’. They didn’t want to put up with it any longer.
"In my opinion, the punishment isn't really going to do anything to deter him, or others like him, from behaving in a similar way. A warning isn't good enough.£
A group of staff from the £842m super hospital had been at a Christmas dinner on December 9, 2017, which lasted late into the evening, before a smaller group headed out to a nightclub afterwards in central Glasgow.
It is understood an altercation took place when Leanord began groping the four colleagues, and he was challenged to stop.
Shortly afterwards the women reported the incidents to their health board bosses.
The GMC concluded: “Although Dr Leanord has no recollection of having behaved inappropriately or unacceptably, he accepts that the women in question had perceived his behaviour to have been so.
“Dr Leanord's conduct in this case did not meet with the standards required of a doctor. It risked bringing the profession into disrepute and it must not be repeated.”
Mr Leanord refused to comment on his conduct or respond when asked if he would apologise to the women involved.
Instead he referred our reporter to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, where a spokeswoman said: "When these allegations were made we undertook a full investigation which concluded last October.
"The allegations about personal conduct were also investigated by the GMC.
"It is important to make clear that this was unrelated to clinical competency and no restrictions have been placed on the individual’s clinical practice."
The spokeswoman did not respond directly when asked whether complainers were told they would not be told the outcome of the NHS investigation.
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