South London doctor suspended for homophobic slur against junior colleague due to rainbow lanyard

Dr Satnam Lidder, formerly a consultant at King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill, has been suspended for six months following a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) ruling. The tribunal found that in January 2021, Dr Lidder made a homophobic remark to a junior colleague, saying he “looked bent” due to his rainbow lanyard, and mocked the colleague’s purple scrubs.

After the colleague reported the incident, Dr Lidder falsely accused him of cheating on medical exams by using his phone during toilet breaks. The MPTS concluded that Dr Lidder knowingly fabricated this claim to undermine the complaint against him.

Dr Lidder left King’s College Hospital in October 2023 and is now employed at George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

In response to the tribunal’s decision on 4 June, Dr. Lidder expressed remorse:

“I am extremely embarrassed that the Tribunal has considered my actions to have been dishonest. I fully realise the sad fact that my actions occurred over the space of a few minutes, but I will have to live the rest of my life knowing the impact this has had, not only on myself, but also on Dr A.”

He acknowledged the power imbalance and apologised for the distress caused to his colleague and those around him.