The Health Care Complaints Commission took Dr Sharwan Narayan to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Photo: Darko Stojanovic from Pixabay.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to allegations of sexual misconduct.
A doctor has been found guilty of misconduct after he was accused of being sexually inappropriate with a female patient when working on the NSW South Coast.
In 2020, Dr Sharwan Narayan worked as a GP at the Moruya Medical Centre as well as a medical officer at the Moruya District and Batemans Bay hospitals.
He was then brought before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal after the Health Care Complaints Commission alleged he inappropriately touched and made sexualised comments to a female patient.
The woman said she originally thought Dr Narayan was a nice, knowledgeable doctor, then was a bit shocked when he allegedly asked her to hug him.
She alleged he massaged her knee and leg at appointments, then also inappropriately touched her breasts.
“[She] said that, at the time, she wasn’t sure whether what he was doing was a part of the medical examination,” the four-member tribunal wrote in their decision from 22 May.
“It felt slightly wrong, but she tried to normalise it as he was a doctor and she thought maybe she was wrong.”
After this alleged incident, she claimed he hugged her.
At the woman’s last appointment with Dr Narayan, she alleged he asked about her sex life then touched her near her genitals.
She said she remembered thinking “what the hell is going on” before he allegedly told her, “I can give you the best orgasm of your life”.
Dr Narayan denied the allegations. His lawyers argued the woman’s evidence was vague, lacking in detail and inconsistent, claiming she was an unreliable witness.
But the tribunal declined to find any of her inconsistencies impacted on her credibility, saying she was “an impressive witness” while Dr Narayan’s explanations were “implausible”.
The tribunal found he inappropriately massaged the woman’s thigh, inappropriately touched her breasts, made sexual comments, hugged her, touched her genital region, asked her about her sex life and made the comment about an orgasm.
This conduct was of “a very serious nature and demonstrates a significant departure from accepted standards”, they said.
“The Sexual Boundaries Code’s definition of breaches of sexual boundaries includes the conduct of Dr Narayan – he conducted physical examinations which were not clinically indicated, he made sexual remarks, he touched [the woman] in a sexual way and he used words and acted in a way that might reasonably be interpreted as being designed or intended to arouse or gratify sexual desire,” the tribunal said.
“Such conduct is a serious abuse of the trust in the relationship between doctors and patients.
“Doctors are expected to act in their patients’ best interests and not use their position of power and trust to exploit patients physically, sexually, emotionally or psychologically.”
Dr Narayan was found guilty of professional misconduct and unsatisfactory professional conduct.
The matter was listed for directions and will return to the tribunal in the future.
It is not the first time a complaint has been made against Dr Narayan.
In 2023, the tribunal found him guilty of professional misconduct over his inappropriate behaviour towards a patient and two colleagues.
The tribunal suspended him from practising for three months and placed conditions on his registration when he resumed practice after the suspension.
Since leaving the South Coast, the doctor, now aged 45, has been working as a GP on Norfolk Island with conditions on his registration.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732 or by visiting www.1800respect.org.au. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call triple zero.
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