Doctor sacked by private hospital after he gave Botox to a friend because she 'wanted to look good' on holiday loses claim for unfair dismissal By Elizabeth Haigh Published: 12:13, 20 August 2024 | Updated: 12:16, 20 August 2024 e-mail View comments A doctor sacked from a private hospital he was caught giving Botox to a friend so she could 'look good on holiday' has lost his claim for unfair dismissal. Bristol-based Emile Aboud injected the woman with the beauty treatment in a physio room before starting his shift at the hospital where he worked, an employment tribunal heard. The 'well respected' medical professional administered the beauty treatment to his friend and fellow healthcare worker - referred to only as Angela - at the Spire Healthcare hospital despite her being a private patient.
He was caught after leaving a box containing his Botox equipment at the Spire Healthcare Limited's Bristol reception. He was subjected to a disciplinary hearing and was subsequently fired for gross misconduct. Bristol-based Emile Aboud injected the woman with the beauty treatment in a physio room before starting his shift at the Spire hospital where he worked (pictured) Dr Aboud told the tribunal he had been delivering Botox to his friend Angela for years The doctor then sued for unfair dismissal claiming the issue was 'hardly misconduct' but an employment judge dismissed his claims and said the hospital were right to fire him.
Read More EXCLUSIVE Plastic surgeon reveals secrets to Kamala Harris aging so gracefully The tribunal, held in Southampton, Hampshire, heard Dr Aboud had worked for Spire Healthcare Limited in Bristol for 14 years before his dismissal. The doctor worked as a Senior Resident Medical Officer and was part of a team which provided 24 hour medical cover for patients and staff. It was heard Dr Aboud was not authorised to admit patients or carry out procedures himself unless he was given permission by hospital management, and that Angela was not a patient at Spire.
Instead, he used hospital premises to administer Botox he had bought himself. The hearing was told that in October 2022, Dr Aboud was contacted by Angela requesting that he administer Botox to her that day. The doctor told the tribunal that he had been injecting her for some years and would often go to her home to carry out the treatment.
On this occasion, he was unable to do that as he was travelling from London to Bristol to start work at 7pm. The tribunal heard Angela was 'insistent' that he treat her that day and so it was agreed that he would see her at the hospital, prior to commencing his shift that evening. It was also noted that Angela worked for Nuffield Health, which was one of the hospital's 'main competitors'.
Dr Aboud met with his friend at the closed outpatient area and escorted her into a private physiotherapy room where he administered Botox - that he had purchased privately - to her face. The tribunal heard he was in the room for around 25 minutes and after the treatment, he walked Angela off the premises, through the reception area, where he left a box of his equipment. The doctor worked as a Senior Resident Medical Officer and was part of a team which provided 24 hour medical cover for patients and staff Dr Aboud met with his friend at the closed outpatient area and escorted her into a private physiotherapy room where he administered Botox (stock image) The following day, a member of staff found the box and reported this to her managers.
CCTV was viewed which showed Dr Aboud 'escorting a woman in and then subsequently out of the reception area'. Employment Judge Catherine Rayner said: 'We find that he was paid for administering Botox to his friend. 'The [hospital] realised that the box suggested that Dr Aboud had been administering Botox and some further inquiries raised two issues in addition to his attendance at the hospital on the Sunday night.
' Dr Aboud was asked about the events of that Sunday evening in a later meeting and he told them he had doing private Botox and fillers for many years. He said this patient had wanted Botox at short notice, but he couldn't meet with her so she came to the hospital. The doctor confirmed that he had charged his friend for the service.
The matter was further investigated and on November 8, he was sent a suspension letter. The hospital's director, Phil Curran, was interviewed and he told the investigating officer that Dr Aboud worked an 'enormous amount of hours' and was both well-known and well-respected. Mr Curran said the doctor was both 'reliable and dependable' but said in bringing his own Botox in, he was 'misappropriating Spire premises for the delivery of a service that they had not commissioned him to do'.
During an investigation meeting, Dr Aboud said there was an 'urgency' in carrying out the treatment as Angela 'was going away and she wanted to look good on her holiday'. Dr Aboud agreed that he should not have administered the Botox in the hospital and said 'that in retrospect he should not have done it'. The doctor was asked about insurance and he said while he was not insured specifically to administer Botox, he was insured for his medical profession.
Dr Aboud's boss said there was no legitimate reason for him to carry out any Botox procedures on site and was, therefore, a 'fundamental breach in procedure' which had the potential to bring Spire Healthcare into 'disrepute' as well as compromising patient safety. In a disciplinary hearing, Dr Aboud made what he later relied on as 'protected disclosures' in relation to a 'bad incident' involving a patient. In the meeting, he asserted that he had not compromised patient safety because the individual is a friend of his, not a Spire patient, so he said that it was 'hardly misconduct'.
On December 9, he was fired. He tried to sue his bosses for unfair and wrongful dismissal but this was rejected. Employment Judge Rayner said: 'We conclude that [the chair of the discplianry hearing] formed a genuine belief, based on reasonable grounds that Dr Aboud's conduct, which had been admitted, was in breach of a number of the hospitals rules and procedures.
'That the breach was a serious one and that whether or not there was any actual or possible reputational damage, the behaviour alone was sufficient to amount to gross misconduct.' She added: 'We all agree on the evidence before us, that he had committed gross misconduct. The sanction of instant dismissal did not therefore breach his contract and his claim of wrongful dismissal fails.
' Botox Bristol Share or comment on this article: Doctor sacked by private hospital after he gave Botox to a friend because she 'wanted to look good' on holiday loses claim for unfair dismissal e-mail Add comment.
