THE senior partner at an Oxford doctors’ surgery told jurors of the “very troubling” things he found when investigating concerns about a locum.

The doctor gave evidence at Oxford Crown Court yesterday in the trial of Yenugula Srinivas, who denies 11 charges of sexually assaulting patients.

The senior partner, who we are not naming to maintain the alleged victims’ anonymity, told the jury 41-year-old Srinivas, of Church Road, Sandford-on-Thames, had worked at the health centre from 2007 until his suspension in February 2009.

He said: “Generally speaking I found him very charming, quite conscientious.

“There was some concern from my partner colleagues about his note-taking, which was not always as thorough as it could have been, but that is not particularly unusual.”

After other doctors at the surgery raised concerns about Srinivas, the senior partner looked into it, the court heard.

He said: “What I found was very troubling.

“I think my concerns were on two fronts. One, clinical content. What was in the records didn’t entirely make sense. But also the way the records were put together was also slightly troubling.”

Referring to one of the alleged victims, he said Srinivas had made no record of a vaginal examination the patient said had been carried out, adding of the notes: “It doesn’t sit as a coherent whole.”

Srinivas was suspended on 90 per cent of his average locum pay on February 27, 2009, while Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust and the British Medical Council investigated the allegations, the court heard.

The senior partner said he had been advised that the surgery itself could not conduct an internal investigation, so he wrote a letter to Srinivas and called him into a meeting to inform him of his suspension.

Under cross examination from defence barrister Alan Jenkins, the doctor said a “tearful” Srinivas had denied any wrongdoing during this meeting and had produced a diary with notes about appointments, but said he had not read its contents because it was not his place to conduct an investigation.

He added that Srinivas was “a gentleman”, “quietly spoken” and “conscientious”.

Earlier in the day, one of the defendant’s patients said receiving a rectal examination while lying on her back, rather than on her side as is common, was “really degrading, really hideous”.

The woman also said she was surprised not to be offered a chaperone to oversee the examination.

She told jurors: “Chaperones are there to protect him as well as me and I remember thinking it was quite interesting that he hadn’t asked me if I wanted one.”

In cross examination the woman admitted having a bad back that had required treatment for a number of years. She denied this could be the reason for having her examination while lying on her back, telling jurors there was “no discussion” between her and Srinivas about her existing condition.

The trial continues.