A divorced Sidcup dentist who used to work at a surgery in Forest Hill repeatedly touched a nurse on the hips inappropriately, it has been found.
Iranian-born Iraj Almasi also accused the nurse of being a “spy” in a text message for reporting him to the General Dental Council.
But Mr Almasi, principal dentist at the Sidcup Dental Spa in Station Road, was found not to have touched her on the bottom after Dental Nurse A withdrew the allegation during her evidence to a GDC fitness to practise hearing.
Despite claiming this in two signed statements to the GDC, Dental Nurse A said in her evidence she would be “lying” if she were to repeat it.
Though the committee did not find any of these allegations proved, they did agree Mr Almasi’s repeated touching of Dental Nurse A’s hips while the pair worked together at VAS Dental Care in Forest Hill was inappropriate and unprofessional.
It occurred between January 2007 and December 2008 after which Dental Nurse A left the practice to go on maternity leave.
In 2011 Mr Almasi was working at the Royal Dental Care Practice in Station Road, Sidcup, before it changed its name to the Sidcup Dental Spa last year.
It was between May and September of 2011 that he was found to have repeatedly grasped a second nurse, Dental Nurse B, around the shoulders and squeezed her.
In its findings released on Friday (August 15) the GDC committee described Mr Almasi’s actions as “frequent and without any acceptable justification”.
In April last year he accused Dental Nurse A of being a “spy” and was also found to have put pressure on female colleagues by asking them to write statements saying they had not assaulted him in the past.
In total Mr Almasi faced seven allegations of inappropriate, sexually motivated and unprofessional behaviour, all of which he denied.
Elements of five of these were found to have been proved, though none of them were ruled to have been sexually motivated.
The GDC will decide what action, if any, to take against Mr Almasi at a hearing in November.
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