Dr Searle told the tribunal that when she met Dr Upton on 29 December, she was told the junior doctor had concerns regarding Ms Peggie’s behaviour on other occasions.
These included a claim – disputed by Ms Peggie – that the nurse walked out on treating a patient due to Dr Upton being there.
Dr Searle said she was “concerned over patient safety” when this alleged incident was relayed to her.
The consultant said she later spoke to another healthcare worker who had witnessed this altercation, but the witness was “concerned about getting involved in an incident for her own safety” due to the amount of press attention the case was getting by that stage.
Dr Searle added: “Staff involved have felt under scrutiny and [know] their views will be widely publicised.”
She later discussed any risks to patient safety with Esther Davidson, a clinical nurse manager at the hospital.
On Monday the tribunal heard from Charlotte Myles, a clinical service manager at the health board.
She said she was “not impressed” with the patient safety claim, as no such matter had been reported at the time, only after the Christmas Eve incident came to light.