A heart surgeon at a Scots hospital who was convicted of harassing and assaulting a woman has dodged being banned from his profession.
Dr Vincenzo Giordano, a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, was charged with assaulting his victim to her injury on November 12, 2022. He was convicted at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on November 28 of the same year.
The 44-year-old, who moved to the UK from Italy, was given an absolute discharge for his crime, which released him without punishment, but still received a 12-month non-harassment order.
A Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) hearing was held regarding his fitness and decided his practice was impaired. It was concluded that Giordano would have his registration suspended for two months.
His suspension will commence 28 days after Giordano, who lives in the capital, receives written notification surrounding the decision.
The court heard in November 2022 that Giordano followed his female victim before going on to assault her by headbutting and punching her. The non-harassment order, which was in effect for a period of 12 months, prevented him from approaching or contacting his victim by any means.
Following the MPTS judgement, a written ruling from panel chair Christopher Turner said: “The Tribunal was satisfied that an immediate order was not necessary to protect members of the public in this case. The Tribunal also determined that it was not in the public interest nor in Mr Giordano’s interests to impose an immediate order.”
The panel in his misconduct hearing ruled that his fitness to practice was impaired, but decided not to impose a ban from the medical profession.
A statement released ahead of Giordano’s hearing before the MPTS read: “The tribunal will inquire into the allegation that, on November 28, 2022 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Dr Giordano was issued with an absolute discharge in respect of an assault on Miss A on November 12, 2022.
“It is also alleged that Dr Giordano was issued with a non-harassment order for a period of 12 months, preventing him from approaching or contacting Miss A in any way. It is further alleged that, following the assault on November 12, 2022, Dr Giordano followed Miss A and further assaulted her.”
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According to Giordano’s LinkedIn profile, he is a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon with a special interest in aortic surgery.
He began working at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh as a cardiac surgeon in 2012. He received a promotion to the role of consultant cardiothoracic surgeon in 2015, and has remained in the post with NHS Lothian since. Prior to moving to the UK, he studied medicine and cardiac surgery in Italy.
NHS Lothian previously declined to comment, as the health board said it did not provide comment on individual employees.
The full details of Giordano’s fitness to practice hearing will be published within 28 days of the conclusion of the hearing.
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