A MARRIED woman said she felt “violated” after a Newport doctor rang her on Valentine’s Day saying “I just wanted to let you know that I really like you,” a medical disciplinary panel heard.

Catherine Smith got the phone call two weeks after an appointment with Dr Ujjwal Debnath at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport.

She said she laughed off an incident on the treatment table when Dr Debnath allegedly caressed her left ankle and asked for her phone number.

On February 14, 2009, Mrs Smith was having a Valentine’s Day lunch with her husband when Dr Debnath rang from a withheld number.

The doctor said: “I am ringing you to wish you happy Valentine’s Day. It’s the doctor who examined you the other week at the hospital and I just found your number and wanted to let you know that I like you.”

She asked him to repeat himself and he replied: “I just wanted to let you know that I really like you.”

When she told him she was married he said he only wanted to wish her a nice Valentine’s Day and hung up.

Dr Debnath, 46, was suspended from practice for six months in 2005 when he hid a conviction for kerb crawling when applying for jobs with two prospective employers.

Mrs Smith told the General Medical Council fitness to practice hearing in Manchester she immediately complained to the hospital.

She said: “I broke down and was crying and shaking. I felt violated and angry. It was a breach of my confidentiality.”

Dr Debnath admitted making the phone call and agreed the content was inappropriate but denies the conversation and his treatment was sexually motivated.

Mrs Smith went to see Dr Debnath on January 28, 2009, after she tore ligaments in her left ankle playing netball.

She told the panel she was concerned as to why he needed her mobile number but acceded when he said a physiotherapist would need it to set up another appointment.

Mark Sutton QC, for Dr Debnath, told Mrs Smith: “I would like to offer an apology that Dr Debnath has asked me to give on his behalf and say that the actions in telephoning you on Valentine’s Day was not only inappropriate but caused you distress for which he is genuinely sorry.”

Proceeding.