Godfrey Charnley was described as "unapproachable"

Godfrey Charnley, 43, had claimed he was pressurised by managers at Derriford Hospital over waiting lists.

He also alleged he was kept "in the dark" over the outcome of an investigation into reports that he lost his temper in the operating theatre.

Mr Charnley, now living in Coggleshall, Essex, was employed by Plymouth NHS Hospitals Trust and resigned in December, 2001.

Respected surgeon

"All I can say is I came here on a matter of principle and issues I believed in strongly," said Mr Charnley.

"I respect the tribunal's decision and although I may not agree with it I am certainly not going to appeal."

The chairman of the Exeter hearing, Peter Anderson, said the evidence of the trust showed a genuine attempt to resolve concerns it had about Mr Charnley's behaviour.

He said Mr Charnley was a highly respected surgeon with a potentially brilliant career.

The trust had tried to deal informally with concerns about the surgeon's tendency to lose his temper in stressful situations in theatre.

They "bent over backwards" to do so fairly when the incident of a spoon arose.

During the hearing Mr Charnley told how when he was offered a dessert spoon to carry out the hip operation he threw it to the floor in frustration and petulance.

He said he had been offered the dessert spoon instead of a sharp spoon or an instrument known as a curette.

Troublemaker claim denied

Later in the hearing two other consultant surgeons said they used spoons during operations.

Derriford operations manager Catherine Thomas had also denied that the trust was using "every trick in the book" to manipulate waiting lists so they did not breach government targets.

They were working "very hard" to manage waiting lists, and denied there was a "climate of bullying and fear" to mitigate problems with them.

Trust chief executive Paul Roberts denied calling Mr Charnley a "troublemaker" at a meeting of the Plymouth community health council.

The tribunal did not consider there was a breach of contract, rejected there was a failure of the trust to maintain a tolerable environment, and dismissed Mr Charnley's claim of constructive dismissal.