A doctor sacked from a private hospital who was caught giving botox to a friend to ‘look good on holiday’ has lost his unfair dismissal claim.
Bristol-based Emile Aboud injected the woman with the beauty treatment at a doctor’s office before starting his shift at the hospital where he worked, an employment tribunal heard.
The “well-respected” doctor administered the beauty treatment to his girlfriend and healthcare colleague – named only as Angela – at Spire Healthcare despite her being a private patient.
He was arrested after leaving a box containing Botox equipment at the reception desk of Spire Healthcare Limited in Bristol.
He underwent a disciplinary hearing and was subsequently dismissed for gross misconduct.
Bristol-based Emile Aboud injected the woman with the beauty treatment in a medical room before starting his shift at the Spire Hospital where he worked (pictured)
Dr Aboud told the court he had been supplying botox to his girlfriend Angela for years
The doctor then sued for wrongful dismissal claiming the matter was “quasi misconduct”, but an employment judge rejected his claims and said the hospital was right to fire him.
The court, held in Southampton, Hampshire, heard that Dr Aboud worked for Spire Healthcare Limited in Bristol for 14 years before he was made redundant.
The doctor worked as a Senior Resident Medical Officer and was part of a team that provided 24-hour medical coverage to patients and staff.
It was heard that Dr Aboud was not authorized to admit patients or carry out procedures himself unless given permission by hospital management and that Angela was not a patient at the Spire.
Instead, he used the hospital’s facilities to administer botox he had purchased himself.
The hearing was told that in October 2022, Angela contacted Dr Aboud asking her to administer Botox that day.
The doctor told the court he had been injecting her for a few years and often went to her home to administer the treatment.
In this case, he was unable to do this as he was traveling from London to Bristol to start work at 7pm.
The court heard that Angela “insisted” on treating her that day and so it was agreed that he would see her in hospital, before starting his shift that afternoon.
It was also noted that Angela worked for Nuffield Health, which was one of the hospital’s “main competitors”.
Dr Aboud met his girlfriend in the enclosed outpatient area and escorted her to a private physiotherapy room where he administered botox – which he had bought privately – to her face.
The court heard he was in the room for around 25 minutes and after the treatment, he led Angela out of 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 that provided 24-hour medical coverage to patients and staff
Dr Aboud met his girlfriend in the closed outpatients area and escorted her to a private physiotherapy room where he administered botox (stock image)
The next day, a staff member found the box and reported it to her managers.
CCTV was seen which showed Dr Aboud “escorting a woman into and then out of the reception area”.
Employment Judge Catherine Rayner said: “We find he was paid to give his friend botox.
‘THE [hospital] realized that the box indicated that Dr. Aboud had administered Botox and some further investigation raised two issues beyond his presence at the hospital on Sunday night.”
Dr. Aboud was asked about the events of that Sunday afternoon at a later meeting and told them that he had been doing botox and fillers privately for many years.
He said that this patient wanted botox on short notice but he couldn’t meet her so she came to the hospital.
The doctor confirmed that he had charged his friend for the service.
The matter was investigated further and on November 8 he was sent a suspension letter.
Hospital director Phil Curran was interviewed and told the inquest that Dr Aboud worked “huge hours” and was both well-known and respected.
Mr Curran said the doctor was both “reliable and reliable”, but said that by bringing his own botox, “there is a misuse of Spire’s facilities to provide a service that he was not commissioned to do”.
During an inquest meeting, Dr Aboud said there was an “urgent need” to carry out the treatment as Angela was “going away and wanted to be nice on her holiday”.
Dr Aboud agreed that he should not have had the Botox done at the hospital and said “that in retrospect he should not have done it”.
The doctor was asked about insurance and 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 Botox procedures on site and it was therefore a “fundamental breach of process” which had the potential to bring Spire Healthcare into “disrepute” as well as jeopardize patient safety.
At a disciplinary hearing, Dr Aboud made what he later claimed were “protected disclosures” in relation to an “adverse incident” involving a patient.
At the meeting, he argued that he had not put the patient’s safety at risk because the person is his friend, not a Spire patient, so he said it was not “almost inappropriate behaviour”.
On December 9, he was fired.
He tried to sue his bosses for wrongful and unfair dismissal but this was dismissed.
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 a breach of certain hospital rules and procedures.
“That the breach was serious and that regardless of whether there was actual or potential damage to reputation, the conduct alone was sufficient to amount to gross misconduct.”
He added: “We all agree on the evidence before us that he had committed gross misconduct. Accordingly, the sanction of immediate dismissal did not breach his contract and his claim for wrongful dismissal is dismissed.”
