Jawad Ahmad

Introduction

Dr Jawad Ahmad is a junior doctor who worked at Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent and who has been struck off the medical register after a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) hearing in August found that he sexually assaulted a female doctor colleague there in 2020 and committed related misconduct. The tribunal heard that Ahmad trapped the woman in an office at the hospital, pushed her on to a chair, and then massaged and kissed her. The MPTS found his behaviour was “predatory and premeditated”.

Background Information

Ahmad was a junior doctor at Royal Stoke University Hospital, part of University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM), where his victim also worked. On a late shift at the hospital in 2020, the woman — then a junior doctor — was lured into an office before being subjected to the assault. In June 2020 he was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a teenage girl; the MPTS later found he failed to inform his employer of that arrest. Staffordshire Police said Ahmad left the country after the allegations were raised and is believed to be in Pakistan, and that he would be arrested and interviewed if he returned to the UK or another country which supports extradition.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Adjudicated regulatory findings. The MPTS struck Ahmad off the medical register after finding the sexual assault and related misconduct proved; findings below are tribunal record. He faced no separate criminal conviction for the workplace conduct described; his 2020 arrest on suspicion of assaulting a teenage girl is reported by the BBC as an arrest, not a conviction.

The central finding concerned the 2020 late shift: a tribunal heard that Ahmad trapped the woman in an office at Royal Stoke University Hospital, pushed her on to a chair, and then massaged and kissed her.

Other accusations of misconduct heard at the MPTS hearing in August included invitations to dinner from Ahmad and requests to visit her home to pick up books. He also failed to inform his employer of his arrest on suspicion of sexually assaulting a teenage girl, in June 2020. The MPTS found Ahmad’s behaviour was “predatory and premeditated”.

When the woman reported the attack to her employer, correct procedures were not followed and her confidential statement was sent to three people in a data breach. In 2023, an employment tribunal found UHNM had unlawfully discriminated against her on the grounds of sex. She said of the experience: “It felt really violating,” and that the trust’s “shambolic” response had left her feeling unsupported. “There were policies that apparently existed, but nobody knew where they were or that they existed at the time,” she said.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The MPTS struck Ahmad off the medical register. The woman, whose identity is protected, told the BBC she had lost all faith in the NHS: “I lost trust in my employer and the NHS to listen to me, believe me and protect me.” She said the assault left her with post-traumatic stress disorder and that she had given up her career in medicine after nine years of training and working, and now works in a different career.

“It made me very anxious about being in the hospital out of hours,” she said. “It made me very jumpy and nervous and it made me lose trust in the organisation where I worked.” Of the handling of her report, she said: “You’re always taught to report sexual assault — you’re taught [there’s a] zero-tolerance policy,” but “fundamentally these are very hollow words when organisations don’t take reports seriously and mishandle cases like this”.

Dr Diane Adamson, UHNM chief medical officer, said: “We accepted the tribunal’s findings in full at the time and continue to unreservedly apologise for failures in our investigation procedures and for the distress this has caused.” She added: “We have zero tolerance for sexual violence and abuse in any form and actively encourage anyone affected to come forward,” and “Every concern will be taken seriously, investigated thoroughly and met with appropriate support.” Adamson said the trust had appointed a dedicated sexual safety liaison officer and introduced mandatory training for staff and leaders in investigation procedures. UHNM said it had reviewed processes and remained “fully committed to providing a safe environment” for all staff.

The woman said she was glad Ahmad had been struck off, but was sad the process had taken six years and that she had had to “fight to get it to this point”. She said she wanted to speak out to drive change: “The point that I have is not that Dr Ahmad has been struck off, which is good, it’s what happens when the next woman reports a sexual assault in an NHS hospital?”

Current Status

Ahmad has been struck off the medical register. A General Medical Council spokesperson said the regulator had acted swiftly to restrict Ahmad from practising soon after receiving concerns in 2020, and said it sometimes paused investigations to allow for a criminal investigation to conclude. Staffordshire Police said Ahmad is believed to be in Pakistan and would be arrested and interviewed if he returned to the UK or another country which supports extradition. Ahmad has been approached for comment through the GMC.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The striking-off ends Ahmad’s medical registration after the MPTS found his behaviour “predatory and premeditated”. For his victim, the case ended a medical career: she gave up medicine after nine years of training and working, continues to suffer trauma, and now works in a different career. “I’m from a working class background, I’m a Stokey, born and bred,” she said, explaining she was the first in her family to attend university and that her father worked in a steel factory while she was growing up. “Being a doctor was very important to me, and it mattered a lot,” she said. “I think medicine needs more people like me.”

Sources

• BBC News, “Doctor at centre of Stoke-on-Trent sexual harassment case ’lost faith in NHS’”, by Joanne Writtle, published 2 October 2026. source