A doctor suspended for circumcising a baby without a mother’s consent has since circumcised a boy without a father’s consent.
Dr Balvinder Mehat was suspended by the General Medical Council in 2019, but did not lose his job because a tribunal decided he posed “no risk to patients”.
The most recent boy needed surgery in hospital after his penis became infected following the circumcision.
Dr Mehat said he believed that “appropriate consent” was in place.
Dr Mehat previously circumcised a baby boy in July 2013, after the child’s paternal grandmother took him to have the procedure without his mother being aware.
In the latest case, the boy – who was seven at the time – was circumcised on 19 October 2022, when his mother took him to have the procedure without his father being aware.
Consent for circumcising a child should be obtained from both parents, according to British Medical Association (BMA) guidance, external, which references the previous case involving Dr Mehat.
The boy’s mother signed two disclaimer forms, claiming only she had parental responsibility and nobody else was involved in his care, but these were dated after the circumcision had already been carried out.
Although the boy has recovered from what happened, his father is worried he will have problems when he gets older.
“I’ve spoken to other people on online forums; not everybody wants to be circumcised,” he said.
“It affects men, physically and mentally, especially when that decision isn’t even a part of what you chose.”
