A DOCTOR on trial for a string of sex offences against his patients claimed has “regret” about the way he acted.

Krishna Singh, 72, is on trial facing 66 sexually related charges against more than 50 female patients.

Singh, of Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, denies the offences said to have occurred between 1983 and 2018 mainly at medical practices in North Lanarkshire.

Singh told jurors at the High Court in Glasgow that he would ask patients about their sexual activity before prescribing the contraceptive pill.

The granddad stated that he would use "local language" and questions would include if they had a boyfriend or a husband as well as if they were sexually active.

Janice Green, defending, asked: "Taking consent from a patient and you are going to examine for one reason or another, what does consent mean to you?"

Singh replied: "When I joined the practice, I did not get consent for doing the examination but when I look back I realise on reflection that I should have taken more consent and been more careful."

The dad-of-three added that he did not document whether or not he took consent from a patient.

Miss Green asked: "You assumed that there was consent when a patient came to you for an examination?"

Singh said: "Yes."

Singh admitted not having a chaperone in his surgery other than on a number of occasions.

He further claimed to have lifted up patients' dresses when he was "in a rush" or was "under pressure” before an examination.

Singh added: "I realise this might have made the patient uncomfortable and I have regret."

Singh stated that he would touch the back of some of the patients using scales in his surgery to "ensure a correct reading."

He said: "When I look back it, it made the patient uncomfortable and I feel sorry now and I shouldn't have done this."

The doctor earlier told the court that his wife became Coatbridge surgery’s practice manager in 2009 after the previous person left.

One of the roles Singh said her job entailed was to handle patient complaints.

He said these included: “Not getting appointments, not seeing the patients, not getting any house visits.”

The trial continues before judge Lord Armstrong.