A Perth gynaecologist has been charged with indecently assaulting a woman during a medical procedure.
Facing Rockingham Magistrates Court on May 21, it was alleged the 58-year-old carried out an assault on a female patient during a medical procedure in February 2022.
Dr Angamuthu Shenbagavalli Arunkalaivanan, a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist based in Canning Vale, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
This is not the first time that Dr Arunkalaivanan has been in trouble with AHPRA regarding his conduct, with a tribunal verdict in December 2019 resulting in his suspension for touching female patients inappropriately (in a way that would constitute an indecent assault and a sexual penetration without consent in the criminal law respectively) during a medical examination in 2018.
In that case, it was alleged that Dr Arunkalaivanan, who was already ‘on notice of the importance of maintaining boundaries with patients’:
- used both hands to squeeze her breasts simultaneously, in a manner that was not in accordance with the expected standards of an orthodox breast examination;
- used both hands to squeeze her breasts simultaneously when there was no clinical indication for any examination of Patient A’s breasts to be performed;
- became sexually aroused while squeezing Patient A’s breasts;
- pressed his erect penis against Patient A’s left kneecap while squeezing her breasts;
- engaged in inappropriate behaviour of a sexual nature towards Patient A;
- breached the condition which was placed on his registration on 27 June 2019 which prohibited him from having contact with a female patient without the physical presence of a Board approved practice monitor who directly observed the entire contact and by conducting the vaginal examinations of Patient B while a practice monitor was not observing the examinations.
Dr Arunkalaivanan has also been the subject of official disciplinary action in the UK when he was referred to the GMC, the regulatory body for medical practitioners, for an allegedly inappropriate breast examination in 2013.
The GMC found that Dr Arunkalaivanan’s actions were sexually motivated and that his fitness to practise was impaired, and he was suspended from practising medicine – a decision which was overturned by appeal in 2014.
A review into his work and a subsequent product recall was issued by the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital NHS Trust in January 2016, after concerns were raised about patient safety following his use of an outdated method for the surgical treatment of pelvic organ prolapse.
“Despite the Trust’s decision to stop offering mesh treatment, Mr Arunkalaivanan continued to perform this type of operation,” West Birmingham Hospital said at the time, noting that from February 2015 he was once again under suspension, and did not have a license to practise.
“The Trust is in the process of reviewing all mesh operations carried out by Mr Arunkalaivanan. This review will check whether patients received reasonable treatment, including whether their surgery was appropriate and properly undertaken and to check whether patients undergoing this surgery were provided with all the necessary information to make an informed decision about the procedure.”
British legal firms, such as Handley Law, were advertising their services for ‘ladies contacted by the Dr Angamuthu Arunkalaivanan Patient Recall.’
In his resume, Dr Arunkalaivanan describes himself as having completed ‘broad training’ in obstetrics including pre-pregnancy counselling, antenatal care, intra-and postpartum care – “which provided me with the knowledge and experience to play an active role in providing safe and effective care for pregnant women.”
He was formerly a UK Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board partner, a GMC associate, and a specialty advisor for Obstetrics and Gynaecology.