A DOCTOR accused of indecent assault was told his behaviour in examining a 17-year-old patient was "not normal".

A jury at P Crown Court was told Dr Tanuku Venkata Suryanarayana had performed a chest examination and an internal examination on a young woman who had complained of stomach ache.

The woman, who is now 19, said the examinations "aimed to arouse her" and involved the doctor "stroking her nipple".

Dr Suryanarayana, 56, of Old Langho, was a GP at Accrington's Eagle Street surgery at the time of the alleged incident in February last year. He has been suspended since the incident.

At a previous hearing, a jury found the doctor unfit to plead after considering psychiatrists' reports.

The current case is being held to establish whether the alleged incident took place and not to find the defendant guilty or not guilty.

The woman, who is from Accrington, said: "While he was examining my chest he began to stroke my nipple.

"It is not the normal thing for a doctor to do but he was my doctor and you are supposed to trust him."

She said she then underwent an internal examination.

The pair were alone during the consultation. She added: "I told him that I didn't like it but he told me to relax. What he was doing didn't feel like a medical procedure, and he was touching my chest.

"He was trying to arouse me."

Dr John Grenville, expert witness for the prosecution, told the court: "If a patient has a stomach complaint it is not normal to begin with a chest examination. I can see no reason why the nipple would be touched."

Andrew Hockton, defending, said: "An internal examination is a perfectly normal way of carrying out an examination for abdominal problems.

"It was a perfectly normal examination, wasn't it?"

The woman replied: "It started okay and then just got worse and worse.

"By the end of it I was in shock."

A statement read to the court on Dr Suryanarayana's behalf said he had been "upset and shocked" at the indecent assault charge.

He said that he conducted an internal examination because he was worried that the woman may be suffering from pelvic inflammatory disease or an ovarian cyst.

(Proceeding)