Surgeons are calling on Wes Streeting to address medical schools’ failure to address sexual assault

A group of surgeons has called on Wes Streeting to intervene because medical schools are failing to address sexual assault and harassment of students.

Surviving in Scrubs, a campaign group representing doctors who have been subjected to sexual violence in medicine, has called on the health secretary to force dozens of medical schools to commit to new NHS standards to tackle sexual assault and harassment.

In a letter to the Health Minister, Surviving in Scrubs co-founders Dr. Becky Cox and Dr. Chelcie Jewitt said medical students were particularly at risk of sexual violence, but medical schools had not committed to the NHS Sexual Safety Charter.

Last year, NHS England published a new charter to address sexual assault concerns and better protect staff. Hospitals across the country were informed by Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, that they would need to sign up to the charter at the start of the year.

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In July The Independent revealed an alert from Surviving in Scrubs that only three out of 36 medical schools had signed up.

Despite a petition signed by 37,000 people, no additional medical schools have committed to meeting the charter’s standards.

In its letter to Mr Streeting, the campaign group said: “Medical students are particularly vulnerable to sexual misconduct. Because of their lower professional status, they find themselves at the bottom of a power imbalance that encourages sexual misconduct and discourages victims from reporting it. The testimonies we receive detail that students were sexually harassed and sexually assaulted by senior physicians during their clinical internship…

“We urge your support to engage medical schools to address the sexism and sexual violence affecting their students. We request a meeting with you to discuss this issue and hope we can work together to find meaningful solutions.”

The group said it had received reports of advisers “targeting” medical students who are afraid to speak out for fear of mistreatment or the impact on their future careers.

The letter detailed stories of perpetrators using training to abuse students, such as using clinical assessments to attack them.

Earlier this year, a senior Oxford surgeon, Dr. James Gilbert, sanctioned by a medical tribunal after he was found to have sexually harassed female colleagues, including trainees.

The UK’s medical regulator, the General Medical Council, was forced to appeal against the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service because Dr. Gilber was only suspended for eight months.

The General Medical Council is seeking to overturn a decision by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service delisting Dr. James Gilbert is required.

The DHSC has been contacted for comment.