Abuse Experts Urge Authorities To Ensure Victims Get Support They Need

By Rob Dixon

A 55-year-old doctor has been jailed for six years in relation to 26 offences, including sexual assaults and the taking of indecent images at his practice in Swanley.

Barend Delport was sentenced and also told to register as a sex offender at Maidstone Crown Court this week, after pleading guilty last month to the offences following an investigation by Kent Police and NHS England’s Kent and Medway team.

Police were originally contacted by the mother of a patient in May 2012, when she became concerned about the treatment at The Oaks surgery in Swanley.

In that case, it emerged Delport had taken intimate photos of a patient who had visited him complaining of a stomach ache.

Irwin Mitchell’s specialist abuse lawyers have vast experience in helping victims of abuse to gain justice over the ordeals they have faced, including former patients who suffered psychological and physical trauma as a result of abuse by doctors.

Luke Daniels, a Partner at Irwin Mitchell who specialises in helping victims of abuse, said: “This is another awful case and, appallingly, the latest in a series of cases in which medical professionals in a position of huge trust have abused that privilege in the most horrendous manner.

“For many of those affected by these awful problems, the sentence handed down today will be welcomed wholeheartedly.

“However, the key issue now needs to be to ensure that victims affected by these terrible crimes are getting the help and support they need to come to terms with them, as well as to move on with their lives.

“It is also vital that the NHS and local authorities are able to work together to ensure that the same terrible circumstances do not emerge again.”

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in relation to Neglect, Abuse and Criminal Injury Claims