Leicester gynaecologist Dr. Douglas Tincello has admitted to sexually harassing a junior colleague at a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing.

Dr Tincello confessed to staring at the chest of his colleague and making several inappropriate comments. During the tribunal hearing, the accused could not explain his actions 2012 and 2019 whilst working at the University of Leicester.

During the tribunal hearing, the complainant who was only identified as Dr. A, stated that Dr. Tincello’s behaviour made her feel “incredibly anxious, distressed, and vulnerable, to the extent that I was conscious of the clothes I wore on the days that I had meetings with him.”

In response, Dr. Tincello admitted to staring at Dr. A’s chest during a meeting in 2013 or 2014 and to repeatedly asking her to meet with him, including a message stating that he would “loiter” outside a campus building and wait for her “discreetly.” Dr. A filed a formal grievance with the university in September 2020.

Such behaviour are likely to be grounds for disciplinary action or even the revocation of Dr. Tincello’s medical license.

MPTS report states:

“Dr Tincello stated that he was just making contact after a meeting to see if she wanted to go for coffee.”

It further added:

“Dr Tincello said that he now thought that the message was totally inappropriate and unprofessional and that he should never have sent it.”

Dr A sent him an email in September 2014 stating that she did not want to meet with him outside of work and that his advances made her feel uncomfortable.

Despite this, Dr. Tincello continued to behave inappropriately towards the complainant by complimenting her skirt in or around 2018.

Dr Douglas Tincello received his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1990. He then spent two years as a research fellow at the Medical Research Council Centre for Reproductive Biology in Edinburgh, where he earned his Doctorate.

In 1993, he moved to Liverpool to work with Dr. David Richmond and Professor Jim Neilson at the Women’s Hospital, where he developed an interest in urogynaecology and academic medicine.

He became a clinical lecturer at the University of Liverpool in 1999 and was later appointed as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Leicester in 2002. Throughout his career, Professor Tincello has conducted research in the field of urogynaecology and has been recognized for his contributions, being awarded a personal chair within the University of Leicester in 2012.

In September 2014, he was also appointed as an Honorary Professor at the University of Aberdeen’s School of Medicine and Dentistry. More recently, he was appointed as the Associate Lead for Clinical Research in the College of Medicine, Psychology, and Biological Sciences at the University of Leicester.

In the tribunal review, Tincello’s actions were found to amount to unlawful sexual harassment under the Equality Act 2010. The hearing on December 7 is in the process of deciding whether Dr. Tincello is fit to continue practicing.