Newport psychiatrist jailed for stalking vulnerable patients

NEWPORT PSYCHIATRIST JAILED FOR STALKING VULNERABLE PATIENTS

A psychiatrist who made "sexually motivated" advances to two patients in his care has been given a suspended sentence for stalking them.

Dr Noel Sardar pretended to be working on call to gain access to one woman's home and bought the other alcohol, telling her he was trying to get her drunk, Swansea Crown Court heard.

The woman contacted the police after he continued to call and text her.

Sardar admitted stalking without fear of causing harm or distress.

The 45-year-old had originally denied two counts of stalking causing harm or distress but pleaded guilty to the lesser charges on the second day of his trial in December.

He received a 20-week suspended sentence for each stalking charge and 30 days of rehabilitation.

Sardar, of Gaer Street, Newport, was practicing at The Forge Mental Health Centre in Port Talbot in early 2019 when the offences took place.

During the trial, it was revealed that both women suffered from significant mental health problems.

During sentencing, Judge Paul Thomas QC noted Sardar's crimes, saying he "had abused the doctor-patient relationship by making contact with both women outside of work." He further added that Sardar's "advances were persistent, unwelcome and downright creepy" and had "destroyed the women's faith in the medical profession upon which they are both so reliant." The judge emphasized, "You knew their frailties and their mental health problems but that did not, I'm afraid, stop you from exploiting them for your own purposes." Sardar would face a hearing with the General Medical Council later this week to determine if he can continue practicing.