Legal support for patients of Dr. Iuliu Stan

In February 2024 Dr Stan’s name was removed from the medical register after it was found that he had inappropriately administered rectal medication to a number of patients for his sexual gratification.  It was also found that he had not offered patients a chaperone or given the patients enough information about the options for their medication and the patients had not given informed consent for rectal mediation.

Dr Stan started to work at Royal Cornwall Hospital (Treliske) in 2015 as a locum SHO in the trauma and orthopaedic department.  We understand that he also worked in the A&E department at various points during his time at Treliske.  He stopped working at Treliske in September 2020 and his employment was terminated in March 2021.

In March 2020 a concern was raised by a father of a child. Dr Stan had given the child rectal pain relief shortly after giving him oral pain relief.  The hospital investigated this which led to Dr Stan being called for a meeting with the Clinical Director in May 2020.  Following this meeting Dr Stan received a letter from the Clinical Director advising him to familiarise himself with the Trust’s Chaperone Policy.  The Clinical Director has since said that this letter was watered down and during the meeting, he had also made it clear to Dr Stan that he should not be administering medication, something which would normally be done by a nurse.

Dr Stan continued working and it appears his practices did not change and similar concerns were raised in August 2020.  He stopped working at Treliske on 7 September 2020 and the Trust carried out an internal investigation that was completed by November 2020.  Evidence was heard that over the last five years, against Trust policy, Dr Stan had prescribed and administered rectal medication on more than 200 occasions, predominantly to male patients under the age of 40.  There was evidence that he did not follow the Chaperone Policy.

In March 2021 they referred the matter to the General Medical Council (GMC). It appears at this stage they have reviewed the records of many patients and identified 37 patients who then were the basis of the GMC investigation.  It is not clear how this small group of patients was selected.

The GMC referred the matter to the Medical Practitioner Tribunal Service (MPTS) for a fitness to practice hearing.  This took place in mid-January 2024.  The Trust wrote to that small group of 37 patients telling them that there was an investigation about Dr Stan’s prescribing practices and there would be a hearing the following week.   In very broad terms.  Fortunately, one patient contacted the MPTS and asked to give evidence at the hearing.  Dr Stan did not attend the hearing.

The MPTS published its findings on 8 February 2024 and they found that Dr Stan inappropriately administered rectal medication for his own sexual gratification.  It was also found that he failed to provide informed consent or did not tell patients they could have a chaperone.  The outcome of the investigation was that his name was erased from the medical register; which means he can no longer practice medicine in this country.

Approximately five months after this report was published the Trust wrote to a further, unknown, number of patients to tell them that Dr Stan had given them rectal medication.  The letter was quite vague and did not tell the patients of the detailed investigations that had been carried out or that the MPTS report was publicly available.

We are representing a large number of patients, but your claim is specific to you.  We will listen to your story and gather the evidence necessary to properly investigate your claim.  Your damages will reflect the impact this has had on you and will be dependent on your individual circumstances.

The first step will be to obtain your medical records from Treliske Hospital and your GP. Your records will provide us with a detailed chronology of your admission into Treliske and any encounters you had with Dr Stan.

Once we have prepared a chronology, we can seek to answer any questions you may have regarding your contact with Dr Stan and discuss the next steps with you. You can contact us at any time to discuss your claim.

No, the criminal investigation is separate to bringing a claim for damages.  If you wish to make a report to the police please contact them direct.

We can discuss the options available to you. It may be possible to fund your claim on a “no win no fee” basis. We will not ask you to pay any money up front. If your claim is successful, you will receive a minimum of 75% of any compensation agreed.

Please contact us to have a free initial discussion about how Enable Law can help you.

You will only have to talk about what you feel comfortable telling us. We are experienced talking to people who have experienced trauma and recognise that there are some things that can be difficult to talk about. We will work with you to find out how you can give your best evidence and make sure you are able to be involved in the claim to the extent you wish.

No. We will take steps to keep your details confidential and so you will not be identified.

We are seeking to work with the Trust to make sure there is a package of support and counselling made available to all those affected by Dr Stan’s actions. Unless this has been agreed, you may wish to speak to your GP to seek a referral.

If you have already had counselling which you had to pay for, we will include these costs in your claim.

If counselling is recommended by the medical expert we will include the costs of private counselling in your claim.

We may ask you to meet with a medical expert. We will talk to you about this beforehand and it will be your choice.

We have a small, dedicated team who will be working on your claim.

• Gary Walker – Partner (Gary Walker | Enable Law)
• Kerry Blomerus – Associate (Kerry Blomerus | Enable Law)
• Sally Crawley – Trainee Legal Executive

We all have experience of claims involving trauma and abuse in a clinical setting.  One of us will be your first point of contact but you can talk to any of us about your claim.

Yes. As part of our investigation we will get your medical records and will go through these with you to explain what treatment you received whilst in hospital. If necessary, we will ask medical experts to comment.

We have asked the Trust to open an independent investigation to answer these questions as we believe it vital that there is a thorough and effective investigation to how Dr Stan was able to do what he did for so long with no concerns being raised. This is despite the fact that he was acting in clear breach of numerous Trust policies. It is vital that lessons are learned from what happened and those responsible are held accountable. We have already seen that the Trust’s internal investigations were limited and ineffective. Therefore, any investigation must be thorough, independent and public.

This will be a civil claim directly against the hospital Trust, Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust. It is very unlikely Dr Stan will be involved in your claim. The Trust will be responsible for the actions of Dr Stan during the course of his employment with them.

No, it is very unlikely Dr Stan will be involved in your claim. You are not obliged to meet or speak with anyone at the Trust and/or Dr Stan. We will communicate with the Trust and their legal representatives on your behalf.

Whilst we cannot say your case will certainly not go to Court, most cases reach an out of court settlement and claimants do not need to go to court so this is unlikely. Our team can discuss this with your further if needed.

We are unable to give you a definitive time, however based on our experience in dealing with similar cases, we anticipate your claim to take anything between 6-18 months to settlement. We will support and guide you throughout the claim.

The amount of compensation you could get will depend on a number of specifics to your claim. Please do contact us and we would be happy to discuss this further with you.

Yes.

If you have already instructed a lawyer and wish to move to Enable Law, please do contact us and we can provide you some free initial advice on what to do.

Cornwall Survivors

A voluntary group offering support and healing to adult (18+) male survivors of rape and sexual abuse. The group meets every Tuesday in St Austell from 7.00pm onwards for about two hours.

http://www.cornwallrcc.co.uk/cornwallsurvivors/

National Male Survivors Helpline

Safeline provide the #5MillionMen National Male Survivors Helpline: 0808 800 5005