Taking the P

A dentist was found guilty on Thursday [29 March] of urinating in his surgery sink and using dental tools meant for patients to clean his fingernails and ears. A medical tribunal said it was satisfied the evidence showed 51-year-old Alan Hutchinson, who routinely did not wear gloves or wash his hands, had risked the health of "himself, staff and patients" for more than 28 years.

A dental nurse who worked for Hutchinson for 16 years said she had caught him urinating in the sink more than once.

"He was tucking something into his trousers before zipping them up hastily. I walked over and I was behind him. He moved to the left and I could smell urine," the nurse told the tribunal.

The tribunal determined that the dentist's poor hygiene habits made him unfit to practice and struck him off the dental register, banning him from work.

"You urinated into a sink in your surgery following which you did not wash your hands and then proceeded to treat a patient. This behaviour was clearly inappropriate and is completely unacceptable," the tribunal chairman said.

With thanks to Reuters