A leading surgeon has kept his job despite ploughing his car into the barriers of his hospital while more than five times the drink-drive limit in the middle of the afternoon.
Dr Paulo Torres was spotted driving erratically at 4.30pm by a police officer who began to follow the surgeons car.
As he reached the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, Dr Torres mounted the pavement and crashed into the barriers, where he was discovered slumped drunk at the wheel.
The eminent foot and ankle specialist was handed a 12-week suspended jail term and banned from the roads for 36 months by magistrates.
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) found that his fitness to practise was impaired, and that he had brought the profession into disrepute and undermined public confidence.
However, the panel let him keep his job after hearing that Dr Torres was in personal crisis at the time of the offence and had demonstrated significant insight into his offending.
He must, however, inform the General Medical Council if he changes jobs, and must be supervised by a workplace reporter while at work.
After the crash, on February 22, 2022, Dr Torres was subject to two breathalyser tests four minutes apart. They gave readings of 190mcg and 175mcg per 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg. He was arrested and held overnight in police cells.
Dr Paulo Torres (pictured) was spotted driving erratically at 4.30pm by a police officer who began to follow the surgeons car
Pictured: The Freeman Hospital in Newcastle Upon Tyne
Tom Moran, for the GMC, told the hearing: It was only good fortune that nobody was hurt when Dr Torres drove and crashed his vehicle, given the level of his intoxication and the effect it had on his ability to stand up.
Tribunal chairwoman Nessa Sharkett ruled: He remained responsible for his actions and given the circumstances in which he drove and the high level of alcohol in his breath at the time there can be no doubt of the seriousness of this offence.
Further, there can be no doubt that his actions resulting in the conviction had the potential to put others at risk of harm and undermined public confidence in the profession.
Furthermore, the Tribunal considered that Dr Torres conviction brought the profession into disrepute.
The tribunal covered four allegations, two relating to Dr Torress conviction and sentence, and two which have not been made public. Its ruling concluded there was a public interest in allowing Dr Torres to continue to work given the specialist nature of his work and the high regard in which he is held.
Dr Torres qualified in 1993 with an Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. Since August 2010 he has been a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, joining Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in March 2012.