Chiropractor given warning after pulling down woman's leggings during consultation

Chiropractor given warning after pulling down woman's leggings during consultation Jeremy English, based in Watford, Herts, had 38 years in the career without any formal complaints - Bookmark Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in An experienced chiropractor has been given a warning after he pulled down a woman's leggings and thong without asking her. Jeremy English “swiftly pulled down” the woman's clothing leaving her “violated and embarrassed”, a tribunal heard. He had done so while playing “Indian music” and telling the patient it was his favourite song called “Praise God”. Mr English has now been issued with a warning after it was found to be a breach of rules because she did not consent, however it was not found to be sexually motivated or clinically unjustified. Mr English, based in Watford, Herts, had 38 years in the career without any formal complaints. A General Chiropractic Council (GCC) misconduct hearing was told that a woman, anonymised as Patient A, attended for a consultation in March 2025. Patient A “changed into a backless hospital-style gown' while “on her lower body, she was wearing gym leggings”. She stated that Mr English “began massaging her back” whilst playing “some sort of Indian music”. Mr English told her the second song that started playing was his favourite and meant “Praise God”. Patient A explained: “He told me to take everything on my top half off so he could get to my back but gave me a gown to put on with an open back. "Then when I laid down on the bed, without warning or consent, he swiftly pulled down my leggings/thong down off my bum. "My whole bum was exposed and I was conscious my genital area was too. "I was in complete shock and too stunned to even speak, I felt so violated and embarrassed. “As soon as I put my hands in the arm rest and laid down, he pulled my leggings and thong down really fast, I didn’t even have time to say anything. "There was no warning, he didn’t say he was going to remove anything: as soon as I laid down he just pulled them.” Patient A decided to make a complaint. An expert told the GCC tribunal that ”it would not have been considered unreasonable to assess the state of the lower back” but that ”reasonable chiropractors would have either requested that a patient remove their leggings or would have adjusted them downwards”. He added that ”informed consent would have been required to lower Patient A’s leggings and underwear”. Mr English ”strenuously” denied the allegation. He ”contested Patient A's version of events, stating that any adjustment of clothing was minimal and clinically appropriate, with care taken to preserve her dignity throughout”. The GCC concluded that Mr English did not obtain consent. The GCC also found he did not get documented permission for a chiropractic assessment at all on that occasion, which is a breach of rules. Ultimately, the GCC found: "The Committee considered that if [Mr English] had first told Patient A that he needed to adjust her clothing and she was happy with that, then not only would Patient A have remembered that, but also she would not have ended up feeling, in her words, ‘violated’ and needing to complain about his conduct. "Furthermore, it was clear that Patient A was taken completely by surprise when[Mr English] pulled down her leggings. "This does not accord with her having been told about the need to do it beforehand and consenting to it, as [Mr English] contends. "For the reasons given above, the Committee accepted Patient A’s account and was satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that [Mr English] pulled down her clothing to expose her buttocks without her informed consent." It was however not proved that the action was sexually motivated or clinically unjustified. The panel went on to say: "The Committee concluded that [Mr English's] conduct... did fall far below the standard expected. "By not explaining to Patient A that he was going to adjust her clothing, which would result in the exposure of an intimate part of her body, albeit a small area, and by not obtaining her informed consent, he had deprived Patient A of an opportunity to object... and this had resulted in a failure by [Mr English] to respect Patient A’s dignity. "Accordingly, the Committee considered an admonishment would be in accordance with the guidance and could, therefore, be an appropriate and proportionate sanction in this case."