Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service determination — substantive hearing
MPTS tribunal suspends surgeon Dr Andreas Prachalias for 12 months over sexual harassment finding
A Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service panel has suspended surgeon Dr Andreas Prachalias for a year, finding his fitness to practise impaired by misconduct towards three female colleagues, including sexually harassing one at a work party and discriminating against another because of her sex.
MedicWatch editorial · Published 21 May 2026 · Updated 8 July 2026
Suspension (suspended from practice) — 1 year
Added to MedicWatch: 8 July 2026Report a correction
What does “suspended from practice” mean?
A suspension is a fixed-term pause on the right to practise. The practitioner cannot work in the regulated profession during the suspension. At the end of the period the suspension may be extended, replaced with another sanction, or lifted on review.
Concerning Andreas Prachalias, doctor (General Medical Council 4153593).
Decision date: 21 May 2026 · Hearing started 16 March 2026 and ended 21 May 2026
In plain English
The MPTS tribunal found that Dr Prachalias's fitness to practise is impaired by reason of misconduct towards three female colleagues. It found he behaved intimidatingly towards one colleague during the Covid pandemic, sexually harassed another at a work Christmas party in a way that was sexually motivated and abused his senior position, and discriminated against a third by excluding her from a meeting because of her sex. The tribunal found his insight limited and remediation incomplete on some matters, but that erasure was not warranted. It suspended his registration for 12 months, with an immediate order and a review hearing directed.
Charges
Dr Prachalias, a consultant and Clinical Director at a liver unit, faced allegations concerning his conduct towards three female colleagues between late 2020 and June 2022. The Tribunal found proved that, at meetings during the Covid pandemic, he behaved intimidatingly towards Dr A, including using expletives about patients and junior doctors. It found that, at a work Christmas party on 10 December 2021, he looked Dr B up and down, grabbed her belt, pulled her towards him and whispered 'why don't you dress like that more often', which amounted to sexual harassment, was sexually motivated and was an abuse of his more senior position. Dr Prachalias admitted, and the Tribunal found proved, that on 14 June 2022 he excluded Dr C from a meeting to tell a 'dirty man joke', which amounted to direct discrimination on the basis of her sex. One further allegation relating to Dr B was found not proved. The Tribunal found the proven matters amounted to serious misconduct.
Findings
The Tribunal found Dr Prachalias's fitness to practise impaired by reason of misconduct. It assessed the intimidation of Dr A as mid-range in seriousness, noting it occurred amid extraordinary Covid-era pressures and was not aimed at her personally, and the sexual harassment of Dr B and discrimination against Dr C as at the higher end. It found his conduct occurred over time, in different settings, linked to his senior leadership role, and was directed at three female colleagues within a workplace culture described as toxic. The Tribunal determined that patient safety was not engaged, but that a finding of impairment was necessary to maintain public confidence and uphold professional standards. It found his insight developing but limited and his remediation incomplete, particularly regarding Dr A and Dr B, though he had shown genuine insight and remediation regarding Dr C. At the sanction stage it concluded his conduct was serious but not fundamentally incompatible with continued registration, rejected erasure, and imposed a 12-month suspension with an immediate order and a review hearing directed.
Source
All facts on this page are drawn from the publicly published Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service determination linked below. MedicWatch does not editorialise the regulator’s findings.
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