How ex Kilmore, Geelong doctor kept working after allegedly groping multiple patients

An ex-Kilmore and Geelong doctor who allegedly groped patients for “selfish and sexual” reasons is set to learn his fate.

Dr Atheer Hmood outside Seymour court in 2014. Picture: Rob Leeson

A Victorian doctor who allegedly groped female patients’ breasts and pushed his groin against them for “selfish and sexual” reasons was able to continue practising and even gain higher qualifications after coming to the attention of authorities and being investigated.

About a decade after his alleged offending, former Geelong Hospital doctor and Kilmore GP Atheer Hmood only now faces being found guilty of professional misconduct or unprofessional conduct, following an eight-day VCAT hearing and prosecution by the Medical Board of Australia (MB).

Dr Hmood — who studied, lived and worked in Iraq until late 2007 — is alleged by the board to have indulged in “prolonged and inappropriate touching of (the patients’) chest (breast) area and/or inappropriate and uncalled for pushing of his groin into their body”.

Three of the nine patients he allegedly groped at Geelong Hospital and then Kilmore Medical Practice between early 2010 and late 2013 were aged under 21.

The patients were seeking treatment for conditions ranging from diabetes to rashes.

Dr Hmood’s first alleged groping incident occurred at Geelong Hospital, where he worked for a short period. Picture: Alan Barber

The tribunal heard Dr Hmood had even continued his allegedly inappropriate examinations after he had come to the attention of authorities and was being investigated.

On October 31, 2013 the Immediate Action Committee (IAC) of the Medical Board imposed conditions on Dr Hmood’s registration banning him from consulting with female patients alone and mandating his work be supervised by another GP.

However, in June 2014 he applied for fellowship to The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), successfully completing all the necessary exams in August 2022, the tribunal heard.

It was alleged by patients Dr Hmood told them to lay on their sides facing away from him and then proceeded to variously cup or fondle their breasts, push his groin into their backside area and make subtle thrusting or rocking movements.

“At its heart the tendency in this matter is relatively simple – Hmood has a tendency to use the performance of purported examinations in the left lateral recumbent position on female patients to engage in inappropriate touching of the patients. His intention is not clinical but selfish and sexual,” the board alleged.

“The state of mind on behalf of Hmood — that is his intention to utilise an examination in the left lateral recumbent position — is for non-clinical reasons and for his own purposes.”

Dr Hmood denies the allegations of professional misconduct or unprofessional conduct and claims his examinations were medical in nature, with any groin contact incidental and inadvertent.

Kilmore Medical Practice was the location of most of the alleged incidents. Source: Goggle Maps

The tribunal heard some of the patients had reported the incidents to police and indecent assault cases had proceeded to both the Magistrates’ and County courts in 2015.

In one of the women’s cases the jury could not reach a verdict while in three others it found him not guilty.

In yet another Country Court trial the jury was discharged without delivering a verdict after a note was found in the jury room from the previous trial, which mentioned Dr Hmood.

And in another trial the jury was discharged without verdict because of a media report.

In December 2018 the Medical Board referred the matter to VCAT “as it was reasonably believed that Hmood had engaged in professional misconduct”.

The tribunal hearing was held in September this year, with findings of fact and an order made in December.

The tribunal found the allegations of five of the women who had made complaints against Dr Hmood for inappropriate and unnecessary contact had been established by the Medical Board. It also found the contact had been for a sexual purpose in five of the nine cases.

“The tribunal has found some, but not all, of the allegations, are established,” the VCAT panel determined. “The parties are directed to now consider the further orders that should be made in this hearing, so that the matter can proceed to a hearing in relation to whether the found conduct constitutes professional misconduct, or unprofessional conduct, and what determination should be made.”

A spokesman for the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) said Dr Hmood’s restrictions remained in place while it was decided what sanctions he would face.

Unprofessional conduct was that which departed from the standards expected by the public or the profession while professional misconduct consitututed “a substantial departure from these expected standards or conduct that is inconsistent with being a fit and proper person to hold registration”.