Consultant radiologist Dr Mark Elias had sex with another man for the entire length of the one hour train journey – in full view of other passengers. The pair had consumed gin and tonics and a bottle of wine.
A consultant radiologist at a world-leading cancer hospital has been suspended after he had public sex on a train on the way home from a gay cabaret bar.
Dr Mark Elias had sex for the entire length of the one hour train journey with another man in full view of other passengers. Dr Elias and his lover, 14 years his junior, had consumed gin and tonics and a bottle of wine before attending a cabaret show in the famous Manchester gay village.
The 52-year-old initially claimed that he had been spiked while at a urinal but it was found that he consumed more drinks than he remembered. After being convicted of outraging public decency, Dr Elias has now been suspended from working for six months – as sacking him would affect an “already overstretched NHS service”.
Dr Elias worked as a consultant radiologist at the Christie NHS Foundation in Manchester– a position which can earn up to £145,000 per year. He met Phillip Goodman, 38, in a bar in Chester, Cheshire, in the Spring of 2024 and they struck up a friendship but not a relationship.
On September 29, 2024, the pair went to Manchester to watch a cabaret show. Their plan was to go into the city, visit a few bars in the gay village before going to the show. They had visited the city together twice before. Dr Elias drank two cans of gin and tonic on the train and they had a bottle of sparkling wine between them.
When they got to the bar they had more drinks and he remembered a “smoky” bottle being passed around and then held to his face to inhale. He said that he did not know what was in the bottle but due to his “disproportionate memory loss” he thought he had been spiked – although a tribunal denied this.
He added he had flashbacks of being in the toilet of the bar and the bottle being passed around. He claimed he did not inhale the substance in the smoky bottle willingly and that had been forced onto him while he was at a urinal.
After the show, the pair boarded a train home and proceeded to have sex on the train “repeatedly throughout the entire journey” – which lasted around one hour. They did it in full view of the other passengers on the train and were warned by the conductor about their behaviour.
The next day when he was told what happened he said he was “shocked, in disbelief, ashamed and scared” by the way he behaved. He said the only information he had about the incident on the train was from Mr Goodman. Mr Goodman posted a picture of him from the train and social media – which Dr Elias led to the the pair became estranged after the incident. In January 2025 he was convicted of outraging public decency at Chester Magistrates’ Court.
He was sentenced to eight weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months and ordered to complete 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days. There was no mention of the spiking in the pre-sentence report – despite Dr Elias claiming that he had mentioned it “on several occasions”.
The case was later taken to a medical practitioners tribunal service hearing who found that on the balance of probabilities his drink had not been spiked and he had drank more than he could remember.
He has now been suspended from working for six months as if he were sacked it would affect patients within the NHS. Naz Hussain, chairing the hearing, said: “The Tribunal was satisfied that Dr Elias has demonstrated good insight into the concerns arising from his behaviour that led to his conviction.
“Dr Elias has fully recognised that his actions on September 29, 2024 were wrong, as well as the actual and potential consequences of his actions. He further recognised the seriousness of his conviction and the impact that may have on the public confidence in the profession.
“The Tribunal recognised that Dr Elias’ behaviour which led to his conviction was a result of his own recklessness of drinking an excessive amount of alcohol on September 29, 2024, and that he attempted to minimise and deflect the seriousness of his actions by stating that his drink had been spiked.
“The Tribunal considered that an immediate order is necessary in this case so as to uphold and maintain professional standards in the medical profession and to maintain public confidence in the medical profession.”
A colleague gave a reference for Dr Elias, saying: “The unfortunate public incident that he was involved in was totally out of character. “Mark has expressed deep regret and remorse. He feels he has let himself, his colleagues and his family down. He has reflected on the event and the factors that could have contributed to this.
“He has taken time off work and since the event has been actively and successfully addressing relevant personal and behavioural issues.”
Another added: “Retaining Mark’s expertise is essential, not only for continuity of service but also for providing cross cover during periods of consultant absence. Any reduction in cover would directly impact patient care within an already overstretched NHS service.”