Lancaster dentist suspended from work over claims of inappropriate sexual behaviour

A Lancaster dentist has been suspended for 18 months after allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour towards a trainee dental nurse.
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The interim suspension follows a complaint reported to the General Dental Council (GDC) against former Bay Dental dentist Kulwinder Virdee relating to inappropriate sexual behaviour at one of the other two practices he worked at in the county.

It was alleged that he had made inappropriate comments of a sexual nature, engaged in inappropriate touching, and made inappropriate repeated out of hours contact to an employee and trainee dental nurse.

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The GDC referral followed an independent HR consultancy investigation into grievances raised by the complainant, a young trainee dental nurse.

It was alleged that the dentist had made inappropriate comments of a sexual nature, engaged in inappropriate touching, and made inappropriate repeated out of hours contact to an employee and trainee dental nurse.It was alleged that the dentist had made inappropriate comments of a sexual nature, engaged in inappropriate touching, and made inappropriate repeated out of hours contact to an employee and trainee dental nurse.
It was alleged that the dentist had made inappropriate comments of a sexual nature, engaged in inappropriate touching, and made inappropriate repeated out of hours contact to an employee and trainee dental nurse.

The grievances included inappropriate comments of a sexual nature, which were covertly recorded by the complainant, inappropriate touching, and inappropriate WhatsApp messages and calls.

The complainant said Virdee's behaviour resulted in her being upset, emotionally overwhelmed and feeling unsafe in the workplace.

An Interim Orders Committee of the Dental Professionals Hearing Service heard that in interview, other staff members said they had all witnessed Virdee make inappropriate comments of a sexual nature.

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"You have a history of inappropriate behaviour in the workplace," the committee found.

"[…] who has worked with you at the practice for 21 years said ‘21 years I have worked here and 21 years it has been going on for… I have said you cannot speak to young girls like that, he would respond 'I know, I’m vile'.’"

Previous concerns raised during the committee hearing included being seen ‘gyrating’ and rubbing against a colleague in the practice, being seen kissing female colleagues at work events outside of working hours on two occasions, and discussing topics of a sexual nature such as dogging, cottaging and prostitution in front of colleagues during working hours at the practice.

Virdee denied ever touching the complainant and stated that some amount of touching is “unavoidable” given the nature of working in close proximity.

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Mr Broomfield, on Virdee's behalf, said much of the evidence relied upon was hearsay and that Virdee had not been given an opportunity to test or respond to that evidence.

He said Virdee recognised the use of inappropriate language in the recording, for which he apologised, but that the comments recorded formed part of a wider mutual conversation between him and the complainant and had been taken out of context.

Mr Broomfield also said an interim order of suspension would have a severe impact on Virdee and his family, including the risk that his lost earnings, as a result of such an order, would result in the loss of his family home.

However, the ccommittee said that the recording contained deeply inappropriate comments of a sexually explicit nature which were allegedly made while the complainant was carrying out her duties.

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The committee recognised that context was important but, in assessing risk, it was not apparent from the continuous nine minute recording that the comments were made in the context of any mutual banter or discussion between Virdee and the complainant.

Rather, the comments appeared to be persistent and unwanted and the complainant appeared to repeatedly challenge or reject the increasingly sexual nature of the comments.

The committee also had regard to the substantial imbalance of power which would have existed between Virdee as a dentist and partner at the practice and the complainant, a young trainee dental nurse.

The inappropriate comments captured in the recording were also of a similar nature to the inappropriate comments towards other junior female members of staff, alleged by witnesses as part of the independent external HR investigation.

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The committee was therefore satisfied that there was cogent evidence in support of the concerns regarding the comments of a sexually explicit nature which Virdee had allegedly made to the complainant.

The committee was also satisfied that there was cogent evidence in support of the concerns relating to Virdee inappropriately touching the complainant, and that there was cogent evidence in support of the concerns relating to his inappropriate repeated out of hours contact with the complainant using WhatsApp.

In the committee’s judgement, there would be a real risk of harm to the public should Virdee be allowed to continue practising without any restriction on his registration whilst the concerns continue to be investigated.

As a result they determined that an interim order was necessary for the protection of the public, as well as being in the public interest.

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The concerns, if true, would breach a number of fundamental GDC standards and would cause serious damage to the reputation of the profession.

The suspension will be reviewed in six months.

Dr Catherine Tannahill, a dentist and director of dentistry at Portman Dental Care, said: "The General Dental Council has suspended Mr Virdee for a period of 18 months as of 18 April 2023. This will be reviewed in six months, and we are unable to comment any further on the ongoing situation during this time.

“Mr Virdee is self-employed and the complaint that was raised against him does not relate to the time that he was providing dental services at Bay Dental Care, part of the Portman Dental Care Group. Mr Virdee does not currently provide services for any of our practices.

“However, as a company we take this very seriously and wish to emphasise that Portman Dental Care sees providing a safe and inclusive workplace for all employees as imperative and providing safe and effective dental care for our patients as our core purpose.”

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