Cardiologist struck off for filming female colleagues in the shower (From Ilkley Gazette)

Cardiologist struck off for filming female colleagues in the shower

A cardiologist who secretly filmed women in the shower has been struck off the medical register.

Vivek Baliga, who lived in Horsforth at the time of the court case against him, was convicted of three charges of voyeurism after pleading guilty to using a video camera to secretly spy on two female colleagues.

The doctor who was studying for a Phd in cardiology research, was sentenced to a three-year community order by a Leeds Crown Court judge last year. He was also ordered to undergo a sex offenders treatment programme and was placed on the sex offenders register.

The offences came to light when a friend staying at his house discovered the camera recording as she was taking a shower. She reported him to police who discovered footage of the same woman showering at her own home and another woman doctor using the toilet at her home.

Now the doctor has been struck off by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service panel, after it considered his fitness to practice.

Panel chair John Donnelly said: “The offences for which you were convicted were serious and were for your own sexual gratification. They were pre-meditated, repeated and carried out over a prolonged period. The panel is of the view that your actions fell far below the proper standards of conduct and the behaviour expected of a doctor.  “Convictions for such offences inevitably undermine the confidence that the public is entitled to place in the medical profession.”  He said the panel had taken into account character references and his remorse, and that there were no issues with his abilities as a doctor.

But he added: “Nevertheless, the panel has concluded that in this case your convictions have brought the reputation of the profession into disrepute and have breached a fundamental tenet of the profession.