GP charged with telling tales

A pub relief manager told a disciplinary hearing yesterday he was left "shocked and embarrassed" when a GP revealed intimate medical details about the licensee and his wife to staff and customers in a tiny back bar.

Robert Shephard told the General Medical Council's professional conduct committee that Dr Norman Shannon, 54, told - in a loud voice - that Mrs A had had artificial insemination. He also claimed that the GP, of Water Orton, Birmingham, spoke of Mr A, who was away from work on sick leave, as having "stress-related problems".

Dr Shannon denies disclosing to Mr Shephard confidential details relating to Mr and Mrs A's medical histories without their consent and in a voice loud enough to be overheard by other customers and staff at the Cock Inn in Wishaw, Warwickshire.