A medic felt unable to speak out against a “golden boy” Oxford transplant surgeon when he touched her inappropriately at work, a medical tribunal has heard.

The medic did not feel she would be believed or supported. 

Consultant James Gilbert is said to have sexually harassed female colleagues, made racist comments and abused his senior position on various dates between 2009 and 2022.

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Mr Gilbert denies any inappropriate behaviour while he worked at the “prestigious” Oxford Transplant Centre, part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The General Medical Council say one of the complainants, Ms E, was subjected to sexually motivated misconduct over a 12-month period when she was a trainee and Mr Gilbert was her educational supervisor.

Mr Gilbert accepts that he tickled Ms E on one or more occasion but said it was “ill-judged” rather than inappropriate.

His barrister, Mark Sutton KC, suggested to Ms E: “Mr Gilbert apologises to you if you experienced any discomfort or disquiet as a result of that.

“He accepts it was ill-judged and it was something he would no longer do but it was in the nature of horseplay and could be characterised as puerile behaviour.”

Ms E replied: “I disagree.

"I don’t expect to be touched in intimate places by work colleagues or in any other environment.

"It was between my waist area, my hips and my breast.

"It was certainly not appropriate in a professional setting.”

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing was also told the consultant admitted he had grabbed and massaged her shoulders on a number of occasions but it was intended to be “a stress reliever” and he would do the same for male colleagues.

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Ms E said: “Whether it was sexual or not, it is not appropriate.

"I think that most people are aware of professional boundaries and their roles within those boundaries.”

Mr Sutton said: “What was the difficulty in saying ‘please don’t do that’?”

Ms E replied: “At the time I lacked confidence.

"You have to understand the hierarchy in the medical profession.

"I didn’t feel like I was in a position of equal power to speak about things I was unhappy about and in the context of Mr Gilbert repeatedly saying he was the youngest transplant surgeon to be appointed.

“His status was he was the golden boy.

"He was the be all and end all for transplants in Oxford.

"It was a very prestigious department.”

Mr Gilbert denies any inappropriate behaviour whilst he worked at the Oxford Transplant Centre (file photo) (Pexels)

She said that on one occasion Mr Gilbert had also “trapped her” against a wall in an office, stared at her body and breasts and said to her: “I have been watching you and you are pretty perfect.”

Mr Sutton said: “I suggest there was no explicit sexual ingredient whatsoever and he was commenting on the conduct of your work.”

Ms E said: “I think the way he said it made it implicitly clear. He was right next to me, leering at me. Uncomfortably close.

“He was so physically close to me I could feel him breathing on my skin when he talked to me.

“I just had no idea what to do. I was just not expecting it. I remember thinking I could expect something like this if I was in a seedy club at 3am but I wasn’t. I was literally checking bloods.”

Mr Gilbert was also said to have inappropriately touched her knees under an operating table and then squeezed her thigh between his thighs.

Ms E said: “It was very clear.

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"It was deliberate.

"He clapped my thigh between his thighs.

"He did it two or three times rapidly. It couldn’t happen by accident.”

Ms E disagreed with Mr Sutton’s suggestion that if such an event happened it would have been visible to other staff around the table and would have been commented upon.

Mr Sutton went on: “I suggest you were well capable of vocalising any concerns you had at the time to enable Mr Gilbert to appreciate how you felt and that was a reasonable thing to expect?”

Ms E said: “I disagree. Mr Gilbert had portrayed himself as the golden boy that everyone loved. I don’t think that a) anyone would believe me and b) they would support me.

“I asked a number of colleagues if anyone else had experienced this and they said ‘no’. I just thought ‘you just need to get through this year’.

“As my educational supervisor what Mr Gilbert wrote in my report would determine the rest of my career. So his word was going to be important. So I absolutely didn’t feel able to speak out

“It was almost like ‘I will sexually harass you and you will get protection’.”

Mr Gilbert also denies he behaved in a dismissive manner towards other trainees in front of Ms E and made derogatory comments such as “not team players”, “no good” and “not worth supporting”.

The hearing in Manchester continues.