Once charged for fraud, now charged with patient abuse

From New Zealand's Sunday Times

A doctor faces disgraceful conduct charges after being accused of paying a patient for sex, giving her drugs without a prescription and advising her how to commit suicide.

The GP, who has interim name suppression, was also alleged to have paid the patient hush money in an effort to dissuade her from giving evidence against him. The Sunday Star-Times cannot say where he is from because of the suppression.

One insider, who has observed many legal cases against doctors, described the charges as the most serious they had seen in years because of the alleged breach of trust involving a mental health patient.

It will be the doctor's second appearance before the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal. His first appearance came after being jailed for fraud.

According to the tribunal, the doctor faces six charges relating to a female mental health patient who attended his busy clinic where he was the sole GP.

The charges are that he had sexual relations while she was still his patient, paid her for sex, advised her how to prepare a lethal dose of medication as a suicide tool, provided her with prescription medication without proper medical reasons or justification, paid her to not attend an interview with the Health and Disability Commission, and tried to persuade her from talking to the complaints assessment committee of the disciplinary tribunal.

The doctor voluntarily relinquished his practising certificate when the charges were laid in April last year.

Amazingingly, the woman's psychiatrist turned the doctor in. Maybe some of them are finally learning to be active in the pursuit of ethics?