A PATIENT who claims she was groped by a doctor at Warrington Hospital may have been suffering from the side-effects of powerful pain-killing drugs, a General Medical Council tribunal has heard.

Pharmacology expert Professor Nicholas Birch says the patient, who cannot be named for legal reasons, may have been suffering from hallucinations around the time she believes she was indecently examined by Dr Shakir Laher, in January and February 2004.

Even though the woman, known as Patient A, may be under the illusion that her experiences were real, they could be based on false memories', the GMC misconduct hearing was told.

The woman has accused Dr Laher, from Blackburn, of conducting unnecessary and inappropriate breast and internal examinations on her, on two separate occasions.

She was being treated at Warrington Hospital for severe abdominal and internal injuries and had been given a combination of morphine, tramadol, pethadine and codeine for pain relief, along with an anti-histamine called cyclizine.

Prof Birch had produced charts, which showed how Patient A might have been affected by the combination of analgesics she had been prescribed over a week-long period.

Cross-examined by Dr Laher's counsel, Kieran Coonan QC, agreed that the levels of morphine in Patient A's system were at their highest around the times when the two alleged indecent incidents occurred.

The professor also confirmed that he had not taken into account the possible additional effects of anaesthetic drugs on Patient A, following an internal operation.

Patient A alleges that Dr Laher approached her bedside, while she was recovering from the operation, and stroked her hand and hair.

The hearing was also told that three days later, Patient A had asked to be taken off a course of self-administered analgesics because of problems with hallucinations and nightmares.

Dr Laher, who denies a series of misconduct allegations, is also accused of carrying out inappropriate examinations on another woman at the Countess of Chester Hospital in July 2004.

The hearing continues.