A SURGEON who bullied and verbally abused hospital staff has been handed a reprimand after being found guilty of serious professional misconduct.

Dr Lukas Van Vuuren, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, faced a number of charges dating back to 1997 following complaints about his aggressive behaviour towards junior colleagues.

A General Medical Council (GMC) professional conduct committee hearing in Manchester found Dr Van Vuuren had behaved in an "inappropriate and unprofessional manner".

It had the power to suspend him or strike him off the medical register indefinitely.

However, the committee heard that the South African was receiving guidance on his communication skills and assistance from the South Tees NHS Trust in improving his training techniques.

It found that he had:

* Forcibly terminated a phone call being made by Dr Jacob der Tavitian, a locum registrar in orthopaedics, shouted at him in an abusive manner and accused him of being "useless".

* Refused to sign an annual leave form presented by Dr Aneel Nihal, a specialist registrar in orthopaedics, losing his temper and tearing the form up.

* Raised his voice inappropriately to Dr Prasanta Kumar Paul, a registrar in trauma and orthopaedics, making him sign a statement that he had not followed instructions properly.

In a statement, the GMC said it believed Dr Van Vuuren was a doctor who set high standards for himself and others.

It added that Dr Van Vuuren, who received a number of letters of support from former patients, was held in high regard for his clinical skills and had acknowledged that the way he behaved was unacceptable.

But the statement added: "In the circumstances, the committee feels that it is still unacceptable to behave in a manner that was both inappropriate and unprofessional.

"The standard of professionalism exhibited towards junior colleagues and fellow professionals fell seriously short of the standards of behaviour that they were entitled to expect from a registered medical practitioner and a consultant."

Dr Van Vuuren was briefly suspended by South Tees NHS Trust after the complaints against him came to light but has since been reinstated.

Trust director of human resources Sue Covill said the GMC inquiry had been "thorough and fair", adding: "We hope everyone concerned has learnt from what has happened and now feel able to move on.