University of Cambridge Psychiatrist Antonio Metastasio Will Lose License for Sex with Patient

December 20, 2022

This story was originally published Dec. 16, 2022 in The Telegraph

- - -

A psychiatrist who lectures at the University of Cambridge paid a porn star patient for sex, then asked her not to tell anyone in case he was "Me Too'd."

Dr. Antonio Metastasio, who also holds senior roles in the NHS and on Harley Street, arranged to meet the woman at a hotel after he stopped treating her.

The Italian consultant, who called himself "Mari" on an adult website, poured the model a glass of Prosecco then paid her £200 for sex, a tribunal has heard.

Following their encounter, the father-of-two ordered the porn model not to tell anyone as he would be in "trouble" and did not want to be "Me Too'd".

The unnamed woman reported him when he pestered her for sex again over a year later and at a Medical Practitioners' Tribunal, Dr. Metastasio was condemned as "reprehensible" for "targeting" the woman who he knew was vulnerable and prioritising his sex drive over her needs.

The tribunal heard Dr. Metastasio has held a number of roles in the NHS and has been a consultant psychiatrist for Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust in London since September 2015.

He is also the lead psychiatrist at the Pasithea Ketamine Clinic, an associate at the Cognacity clinic in Harley Street and a senior clinical tutor at the University of Cambridge.

The tribunal ruled that Dr. Metastasio will be erased from the UK medical register by 13 January 2023 unless he makes an appeal against the decision.

In November 2017, the porn star was referred to Dr. Metastasio "in relation to a bipolar depressive episode, risk of suicide and alcohol addiction".

While she was an in-patient in Camden, Dr. Metastasio was the woman's treating consultant and he treated her on four occasions.

A tribunal report said: "The fact that she was a sex worker was a significant part of her history, and a very relevant factor that had to be considered by those treating her both in respect of her suicide risk and her alcoholism."

The woman, named only as "Patient A," was discharged but five months after caring for her Dr. Metastasio followed her on Twitter, which she used to post sexually explicit content.

On three occasions in 2018 he messaged the Twitter profile asking "are you available" to meet at the London hotel he was staying in.

In February 2019, he booked her through an adult website, paying £200 for one hour, and she visited his hotel room, recognizing him when she arrived.

'You can't tell anyone about this'

She said: "When we got to the hotel room, Dr. Metastasio poured some wine and he talked about bipolar and how he could help me with it.

"Dr. Metastasio started and led the conversation. Dr. Metastasio acknowledged treating me as a patient. Dr. Metastasio was talking about things relating to psychiatry."

Dr. Metastasio insisted he did not recognize the woman, but the tribunal found he did.

The porn star also said: "As Dr. Metastasio walked me back towards the pub, Dr. Metastasio said, 'You know about the Me Too movement, well you can't tell anyone about this, or I might get in trouble'."

More than a year later, in August 2020, the doctor sent her a message on WhatsApp saying: "Would be possible to arrange a meeting with you?" The woman later made an official complaint.

Charles Thomas, chairman of the MPTS tribunal, said: "Dr. Metastasio put his pursuit of sexually motivated behavior before the needs of someone whom he knew to be vulnerable, had been his patient and could potentially be a service user again in the future.”

Dr. Metastasio originally trained at the University of Perugia in his home country before moving to the UK and completing postgraduate studies at King's College and Cambridge.

Patient A is now in a “much better place,” no longer drinks alcohol, and is not a sex worker, the tribunal heard.

Source: “Leading Cambridge psychiatrist paid porn star patient for sex,” The Telegraph, Dec. 16, 2022, URL: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/16/leading-cambridge-psychiatrist-paid-porn-star-patient-sex/