British Psychiatrist Adam Osborne is suspended AGAIN... over 'serious misconduct' with female patient

From this Report in the Daily Mail

Adam Osborne, 38, who has a private practice in Central London, last week had his licence suspended by the General Medical Council (GMC) after being accused of having a two-year sexual affair with a highly vulnerable woman patient who has psychiatric issues, is married and has two children. The news comes five years after he was suspended by the GMC for ‘dishonest and misleading’ behaviour in prescribing drugs to his cocaine-addicted prostitute lover. The latest blow means he cannot practise in any capacity as a doctor until an investigation into the new allegations has been concluded. The suspension will prove highly embarrassing for (his brother) the Chancellor (George Osborne), coming as he prepares for Wednesday’s crucial Budget, the last before May’s General Election. If the investigation results in a Fitness To Practise hearing, which is held in public, Dr Osborne could face further sensitive personal information being revealed. And if the allegations are upheld, he could be struck off. In the wake of the hearing, Dr Osborne’s personal website was taken down. His Linkedin page states that he has a special interest in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, personality disorders, depression and anxiety. Dr Osborne currently runs Devonport Psychiatry, which is based in Marylebone, Central London, but is officially registered to his home address in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, which he shares with his wife Rahala Noor, a plastic surgeon. His suspension in 2010 stemmed from a series of allegations surrounding his use of prescription drugs, which centred on allegations of a relationship with a prostitute. The GMC said that his ‘relationship’ with the woman had ‘clouded his judgment’ and led him to prescribe powerful anti-psychotic drugs, dishonestly use a false name and fail to inform her GP. Dr Osborne was also disciplined for prescribing contraceptive pills to his then girlfriend, Rahala, a strict Muslim who would become his wife, and an anti-smoking drug to an unnamed family member. The GMC hearing was told that Dr Osborne had been in a relationship with the prostitute, referred to as Miss B, from 2007 to 2008 while he was separated from his girlfriend and he was a trainee psychiatrist in Manchester.

More Details and Photos at the Daily Mail

Medical Licensing Boards in Canada: Information on filing complaints against psychiatrists in Canada

Here is a list of Medical Licensing Boards in the Canada, given alphabetically by Province. This information may be useful if you want to file a complaint against your local psychiatrist.

This is contact information for provincial agencies in Canada responsible for the licensure and certification of psychiatrists throughout Canada listed in alphabetical order below. Other additional links and information are provided.

Please note that while we think this information is correct, that names, telephone numbers, and other information may have changed.

As found at this webpage on the website of the Canadian Psychiatric Association

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I want to make a complaint about my psychiatrist's conduct. Who should I contact? Contact your provincial College of Physicians and Surgeons or Medical Board for further information on the complaints process governing physicians in your province. Complaints must usually be made in writing. The following is a brief description of how to lodge a complaint, the contact information for the appropriate body and the link to further electronic information.

To lodge a complaint in Alberta, mail in a completed, signed Complaint Reporting Form or letter of complaint to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta. The contact information for the Alberta College is:

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta
2700 - 10020 100 Street NW
Edmonton, Alberta, T5J 0N3
Phone: 780-423-4764
Fax: 780-420-0651
General Public Inquires: 1-800-561-3899
Complaints Line: 1-800-661-4689 (in Alberta)
College Patient Advocate: 780-423-4764 or 1-800-661-4689
For more information on the complaints process in Alberta click here.

In British Columbia, complete a complaint form or write a letter including your name, date of birth, address and telephone number, the name and address of the doctor involved, a description of the incident in as much detail as possible, the date of the incident and your signature. Complaints are not accepted by e-mail and they must be signed and submitted in writing either by mail or fax. Send complaints to:

The Registrar
College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia
400-585 Beatty St.
Vancouver BC V6B 1C1
For more information on the complaints process in British Columbia click here.

In Manitoba, complaints must be made in writing and signed. A letter to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba should include your name, address, telephone number(s), Personal Health Identification Number (from your Manitoba Health card), the name of physician(s) being complained about, the date(s) of service, the name and address of other caregivers from whom information should be obtained (for example, other physicians, nurses, physiotherapists or dentists), the name of hospital(s), dates seen, and a clear description of the complaint about the physician(s). Mail or fax your letter to:

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba
Attn: The Complaints Department
1000-1661 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3J 3T7
Fax: 204-774-0750
For more information, click here.

In New Brunswick, complaints must be submitted in writing to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick. Mail or fax your complaint to:

Registrar
c/o College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick
1 Hampton St, Suite 300
Rothesay, NB E2E 5K8
Tel: (506) 849-5050 ou 1-800-667-4641
Fax: (506) 849-5069
For more complete information on the complaints process, click here.

In Newfoundland, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador accept complaints in writing. Letters of complaint should be sent to:

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador
139 Water Street, Suite 603
Saint John's, NF A1C 1B2
Tel: 709-726-8546
1-800-563-8546 (Toll Free from outside St. John's)
Fax: 709-726-4725
For more information on the complaints process in Newfoundland and Labrador click here.

The President of the Medical Board of Inquiry is responsible for investigating written complaints about physicians in the Northwest Territories and can be contacted at:

President of the Medical Board of Inquiry
2025 Palermo Way SW
Calgary AB T2V 5J6
Phone: (403) 281-7122
Fax: (403) 281-7124

In Nova Scotia, complaints must be made in writing. Complaint forms are available on the College website. Although the form is recommended, you may file a complaint without using the form provided your letter is typed or legibly written and signed. A signed consent form is also required before the complaint can be investigated. The complaint should contain the doctor's name, a description of the events that led to the complaint (such as the date and location) and any other information that may aid the College in its investigation. You may wish to add the names of people who witnessed the events or who have useful information. The College contact information is:

Investigations Department
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia
Suite 5005 - 7071 Bayers Road
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3L 2C2
Tel: 902-422-5823 or Toll-free in Nova Scotia 1 877-282-7767
Investigations Department Fax: 902-422-5271
For more information on the complaints procedure, click here.

To obtain information about the complaints process in Nunavut, contact the
Department of Health and Social Services at:

Government of Nunavut
Registrar, Professional Licensing
2nd Floor, NCC Building
Box 390
Kugluktuk NU X0B 0E0
Telephone: 867-982-7672
Fax: 867-982-3256 or 867-982-7640
E-mail: bvandenassem@gov.nu.ca

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario accepts complaints either in writing or in other permanent form (such as a tape, film or disk). Complaints may be e-mailed to the College but confidentiality cannot be guaranteed when using this method. All correspondence sent from the College in response to an e-mail complaint will be sent by regular mail to preserve confidentiality. The College's web site also offers an online complaint form. The contact information for the College is:

The Registrar
c/o Investigations and Resolutions Department
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
80 College Street
Toronto, Ontario M5G 2E2
Tel: 416-967-2603 or 1-800-268-7096 ext. 603.
E-mail: investigations&resolutions@cpso.on.ca
For more information on the complaints process in Ontario click here.

To initiate a complaint in Prince Edward Island you must submit a letter detailing the complaint to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of PEI and send it to:

College of Physicians and Surgeons of PEI
199 Grafton Street
Charlottetown, PE C1A 1L2
Fax: 902-566-3986
For further information on the complaints process click here.

In Quebec, you can request an investigation into the professional conduct of your physician by completing and sending a investigation request form to the Direction des enquêtes du Collège des médecins du Québec:

Direction des enquêtes
Collège des médecins du Québec
2170, boulevard René Levesque Ouest
Montréal (Québec) H3H 2T8
Fax: 514-933-2291
Tel: 514-933-4441 Toll free (from outside Montreal): 1-888-MÉDECIN
For more detailed information on complaints procedures click here.

In Saskatchewan, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan accepts complaints in writing. A complaint reporting form is available online. The contact information for the College is:

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan
500-321A-21st Street East
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 0C1
1-800-667-1668 (Complaints Toll Free Number)
Fax: 306-244-0090 (general) or 306-244-2600 (Registrar)
For more information on the complaints process in Saskatchewan click here.

In the Yukon, letters of complaint must be made in writing and accompanied by a Consent to Release Information form. Complaints should be directed to:

Yukon Medical Council
c/o Registrar of Medical Practitioners
Box 2703 C-18
Whitehorse YT Y1A 2C6
Telephone: 867-667-3774
Fax: 867-393-6483

More information on the complaints process is available on the Yukon Medical Council website.

Canadian Psychology Licensing Boards by Province (late 2014)

Here is a list of Psychology Licensing Boards in the Canada, given Alphabetically by Province 

This is contact information for provincial agencies in Canada responsible for the licensure and certification of psychologists throughout Canada listed in alphabetical order below. Other additional links are provided.

Please note that while we think this information is correct, that names and telephone numbers may have changed. This information may be useful if you want to file a complaint against your local psychologist. 

ALBERTA
The College of Alberta Psychologists
Address
2100 Sunlife Place
10123 - 99th Street

Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3H1

Phone 

(780) 424-5070

Main Page
Verify a License
Law

Rules & Regulations

BRITISH COLUMBIA
College of Psychologists of British Columbia
Address
404 - 1755 W Broadway

Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 4S5

Phone 

(604) 736-6164

Main Page
Verify a License
Law

Rules & Regulations

MANITOBA
Psychological Association of Manitoba
Address
162-2025 Corydon Ave., #253

Winnipeg, Manitoba R3P 0N5

Phone 

(204) 487-0784

Main Page
Verify a License
Law

NEW BRUNSWICK
College of Psychologists of New Brunswick
Address
236 St. George Street
Suite 219

Moncton, New Brunswick E1C 1W1

Phone 

(506) 382-1994

Main Page
Verify a License

NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR
Newfoundland & Labrador Psychology Board
Address
NLPB, Suite 303, Carnell Building
P. O. Box 8275

St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador A1B 3N4

Phone 

(709) 579-6313

Main Page
Verify a License

NOVA SCOTIA
Nova Scotia Board of Examiners in Psychology
Address
The Halifax Professional Centre
455 - 5991 Spring Garden Road

Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 1Y6

Phone 

(902) 423-2238

Main Page
Verify a License
Law

Rules & Regulations

ONTARIO
College of Psychologists of Ontario
Address
110 Eglinton Avenue West, Suite 500

Toronto, Ontario M4R 1A3

Phone 

(416) 961-8817

Main Page
Verify a License

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Prince Edward Island Psychologists Regulation Board
Address
Univ. of Prince Edward Island, Psych. Dept.
550 University Avenue

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island C1A 4P3

Phone 

(902) 566-0549

Main Page
Verify a License
Law

Rules & Regulations

QUEBEC
Ordre des psychologists du Quebec
Address
1100 Beaumont AvenueSuite 510

Mount Royal, Quebec H3P 3H5

Phone 

(514) 738-1881

Main Page
Verify a License

SASKATCHEWAN
Saskatchewan College of Psychologists
Address
1026 Winnipeg Street

Regina, Saskatchewan S4R 8P8

Phone 

(306) 352-1699

Main Page
Verify a License

Medical board seeks to yank license of former UCSC psychiatrist over sex acts

A Report in the Mercury News

The state medical board is seeking to revoke the license of a former UC Santa Cruz psychotherapist who authorities say admitted to having a brief sexual relationship with a 21-year-old student whom he was treating for relationship issues and an eating disorder.

Milton Peechuan Huang, 45, of Scotts Valley, was a staff psychiatrist at the Student Health Center during the alleged affair that began in November 2007 and ended the next month, according to a complaint filed by the California Attorney General's Office. Huang resigned his half-time post with UCSC in February after the university launched an investigation that resulted in the medical board probe.

The Medical Board of California is expected to hold a hearing to determine if Huang crossed professional boundaries of therapy and committed unprofessional conduct. If found guilty, Huang's license could be revoked or suspended, or he could be placed on probation.

A spokeswoman with the Attorney General's Office said she did could not say how the university came to learn of the alleged impropriety, and a university spokesman could not immediately provide information about the case. Authorities have not identified the patient.

"We obviously take these allegations very seriously, and have cooperated fully with the state Medical Board during its investigation into this accusation," campus spokesman Jim Burns said Monday.

Huang could not be reached Monday, and an attorney who represented Huang
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during the medical board's investigation did not return several messages. Huang, who worked 5 1/2 years for the university, has maintained a private practice in Santa Cruz, but it's unclear if he is still seeing patients.

A recent posting on Jobster.com indicates Huang is "job hunting." Huang's profile on that site, as well as his own Web site, said that he is interested in the connections between technology, science and emotions.

"This includes learning something about sociology, anthropology, religion, mathematics, cognitive science, neurobiology and philosophy," his site says. "It also includes working on being more true to myself and despite failings, striving to live a better life. I practice tai chi and being a father. I continue to look at how I can best pursue creating change in myself and my personal relationships."

According to a Nov. 6 complaint signed by Barbara Johnston, executive director of the medical board, Huang admitted in an July 29 interview with the agency that he had sexual contact on at least two occasions with the patient, who was first referred to him in January or February 2007. On one occasion, he said the patient told him she was sexually attracted to him.

Students being seen by campus psychotherapists have to transfer treatment to the chief psychiatrist or be referred to a private practice over the summer, so the woman asked to be transferred to Huang's private care in July, the complaint says. After several months of weekly appointments, Huang said the two began sharing "each others' thoughts and emotions" during a Nov. 2 session he described as one of "self-revelation."

The complaint said Huang acknowledged that session was "his first boundary crossing," and said the two started talking to each other on the telephone and exchanging text messages, though he resisted physical contact for two more weeks. During a Nov. 16 session at his office, however, Huang said they both disrobed and touched each other.

At the following session, Huang said he handed his patient a booklet titled "Professional Therapy Never Includes Sex," to which he said she replied, "Shouldn't we have sex first?" The doctor described the next two sessions as "emotionally tense" as they discussed possibly ending their relationship.

Still, Huang said he agreed to the patient's request to hold their Dec. 21 therapy session in her Santa Cruz apartment, where he said they exchanged gifts before entering her bedroom. Huang told the medical board the patient performed oral sex on him and snapped a photo of him standing by her car before he left, after which he said the two did not speak again.

Huang said he did not bill the patient for that session or the preceding one because they were "informal," but all others, including the Nov. 16 session when the two disrobed in his office, were billed for 50 minutes of time.

Since July 2007, the medical board has filed 240 cases of alleged physician misconduct, according to the Attorney General's Office. Thirty-two of the licenses were revoked, but 91 doctors were placed on probation and 87 others were subject to various forms of reprimand.

Houston Psychiatrist's License Suspened Over Cocaine Use

As reported by the Houston Chronicle

The Texas Medical Board temporarily has suspended the license of Houston psychiatrist Dr. Eli Anderson, saying he failed a test for cocaine use and his practice represents a threat to the public's welfare.

Agency documents indicate Anderson, 64, pleaded no contest to a third-degree felony cocaine possession charge in June 2005. He was placed on a five-year order of deferred adjudication, meaning that the offense would be stricken from his record if he met probation-like requirements during that period.

In February 2007, Anderson was arrested in Lubbock on outstanding warrants from Clay County. While in custody, Lubbock police lodged other charges against him, including one for possessing drug paraphernalia.

In August of that year, officials of Anderson's employer, the Lubbock Regional Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center, notified the medical board that the charges had led to his dismissal.

In June, Anderson tested positive for a cocaine metabolite.

Medical board spokeswoman Jill Wiggins said the temporary suspension will remain in effect indefinitely. Anderson may appeal the decision in state district court.

Anderson, a graduate of the Baylor College of Medicine, has practiced in Texas 29 years, most recently at 8240 Antoine Drive. He could not be reached for comment.

Ontario psychiatrist has license suspended over "management of boundary issues"

It sounds like the misconduct is described with sufficient mumbo jumbo and code words to obscure what really happened with this shrink. "Boundary Issues" seems to be a code that say that the shrink was getting way too friendly with the patient.Report from the Burlington Post

A local psychiatrist recently had his licence temporarily suspended.

On June 24, the discipline committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario found that Dr. Howard Douglas Taynen, who has a downtown practice, "committed an act of professional misconduct, in that he failed to maintain the standard of practice of the profession in relation to one patient in a number of respects, (i.e., his treatment selection of psychodynamic psychotherapy; failure to formally consult with an experienced psychotherapist regarding the management of this patient; management of boundary issues; and by assuming all aspects of this patient's care)."

The college's discipline committee ordered a public reprimand including a one-month suspension of Taynen's certificate of registration, starting July 1.

His licence will be further suspended for another month, starting Feb. 1, 2009, if he doesn't comply with orders by the college to successfully complete several professional development courses.

As well, the college ordered that Taynen pay $3,650 in legal costs to the college, that he set up an assessment of his practice, at his own expense, and abide by any recommendations coming from it, and that he not treat any patient identified as or diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder.

TV psychiatrist "unfit to practice"

a followup and conclusion to earlier reports. As reported by Reuters.

Psychiatrist and broadcaster Dr Raj Persaud has been found unfit to practice after he admitted plagiarising other people's work, the medical watchdog said on Friday.

His conduct was "inappropriate, misleading, dishonest and liable to bring the profession into disrepute", a General Medical Council panel found.

He had undermined public confidence in the profession and his conduct had "fallen below the standards of behaviour the public expected from doctors", it added.

Persaud had admitted copying four pieces of work for his 2003 book "From the Edge of the Couch" during a GMC disciplinary hearing in Manchester this week.

The former presenter of the BBC Radio 4 programme "All in the Mind" also admitted copying passages from two other pieces of work in a series of newspaper articles and journals.

He was resident psychiatrist on the daytime TV show "This Morning" and has appeared on the "Richard & Judy" show. He has also written for The Daily Telegraph and The Independent.

Persaud had denied dishonesty, but the GMC said he must have known what he was doing. He had said he was in a confused mental state at the time of writing the work because of the pressure of juggling his work for the media and the National Health Service.

"Your dishonest conduct brings the profession into disrepute and the panel has... concluded that your fitness to practise is impaired by reason of your misconduct," the GMC said in a written judgement.

"The panel has determined that your dishonest conduct in plagiarising other people's work on multiple occasions represents a serious breach of the principles that are central to good medical practice.

"Your conduct has fallen below the standards of behaviour that the public is entitled to expect from doctors and undermines public confidence in the profession."

While the panel said no patients had been injured it still had an obligation to protect the profession's reputation.

"Doctors occupy a position of privilege and trust in society and are expected to act with integrity and to uphold proper standards of conduct," the panel said.

Persaud is a consultant psychiatrist at the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals and Gresham professor for Public Understanding of Psychiatry.

In 2002, he was voted one of the top 10 psychiatrists in the UK by a survey of the Institute of Psychiatry and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Convicted killer working as psychiatrist - Patients don't know he killed his wife

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

The family of a woman killed by her psychiatrist husband in 1987 is disgusted he was later able to be reregistered to practise.

Dr George Sliwinski shot his former wife Alice in 1987 and was sentenced to eight years' jail after pleading guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.

Dr Sliwinski had been struggling with alcoholism and the use of prescription drugs, which during the 80s had led to a number of breakdowns and admissions to psychiatric hospitals.

After being released on parole in 1990, in 1994 Dr Sliwinski successfully appealed to the Medical Tribunal of NSW to be reregistered.

Since 1996 he has been employed as a psychiatric registrar at Gosford and Wyong hospitals.

The Australian Medical Association opposed his reappointment, Fairfax has reported.

News that Dr Sliwinski was again practising has alarmed his late wife's family, with the victim's sister, Noleen Tasoulis, saying it was "disgusting".

But Dr Sliwinski has been defended by his colleagues and NSW Health.

A spokeswoman for the Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service said there had been no formal complaints about his work.

"All appropriate background checks required at the time of his employment were conducted," she said.

Senior psychiatrist Chris Tennant defended his colleague, saying Dr Sliwinski "met all the conditions imposed on him by the board".

Many of Dr Sliwinski's current patients do not know of his past, as he is under no obligation to tell them, Fairfax says.

Of course, there's been a small uproar over this discovery. We also have this extended report

NINE years after he shot and killed his wife, George Sliwinski was back in his job as a psychiatrist, treating mentally ill patients in public hospitals.

Dr Sliwinski himself had a history of mental illness. This led him to either leave or be dismissed from four medical facilities in the 1980s. In 1987, after a decade of chronic drug and alcohol abuse, he shot his former wife, Alice, four times, a month after their divorce. One of the shots, to her head, killed her.

But Dr Sliwinski was released on parole in 1990. And he was employed as a resident medical officer at the Central Coast Mental Health Service in July 1994, shortly after successfully appealing to the Medical Tribunal of NSW to be re-registered. The Australian Medical Association publicly opposed the re-registration.

Dr Sliwinski was employed as a psychiatric registrar at Gosford and Wyong hospitals in 1996, and continues in this role.

But, to this day, many of his patients are unaware of his past - and there is no obligation for DrSliwinski or authorities to tell them.

The case of Dr Sliwinski raises difficult issues of a patient's right to know the record and background of their doctor and the ability of someone to redeem themselves and begin a new life.

In 1994 the Medical Tribunal said it had "some difficulty" deciding whether he was fit to be a doctor. But it concluded he was suitable because he did not intend to kill his wife, had no history of violence and was supported strongly by three psychiatrists who gave evidence that he had been fully rehabilitated and was very unlikely to relapse.

And yet questions remain unanswered. The Health Department will not reveal how it monitored Dr Sliwinski to ensure he met strict conditions imposed by the tribunal, such as regular urine and/or blood tests, psychiatric treatment and constant supervision. The tribunal also appeared to be unaware that Dr Sliwinski's wifealleged he had a history of violence against her. It found the killing was an "isolated occasion", despite her allegations, set out in an Apprehended Violence Order summons issued in the year before her death.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists - which is responsible for ensuring the suitability of psychiatrists - has refused to comment on what processes it undertook to assess him. And in the 1990s the NSW Medical Board was not required to independently notify employers of a doctor's restrictions. A spokeswoman for the board, Edwina Light, said it was prohibited from revealing why DrSliwinski's strict conditions were lifted in 1999.

Doctors are not legally obliged to tell patients they are working under conditions or have been deregistered in the past, and the Health Department has no policy requiring disclosure.

Dr Sliwinski went on trial in the Supreme Court for the murder of Alice on October 1, 1987, a month after they divorced.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the fourth day of his trial, in 1988, and was sentenced to a maximum of eight years' jail.

He had shot Alice four times but said he could not recall the incident and successfully argued diminished responsibility because of his intoxicated state.

In sentencing him, Justice Ray Loveday said there was no motive for the killing and described it as "quite bizarre".

According to the tribunal's 1994 judgment, he had been abusing alcohol and a cocktail of prescription drugs, mostly tranquillisers, for almost a decade and had sought psychiatric help several times from 1979, including stays at psychiatric hospitals in 1985 and 1987. He feared "dying and going mad".

His drinking dated back to the late 1960s, when he drank on the job as a medical trainee because he found attending cancer wards difficult.

His father died of bone cancer when Dr Sliwinski was 11 and his mother had schizophrenia.

The drug addiction began in 1977 after his first wife, Barbara, left him with their children and a doctor gave him Serepax after he was unable to administer anaesthesia due to a panic attack at Moree Hospital.

However, in its judgment in 1994 the tribunal concluded that Dr Sliwinski was not an intrinsically violent person. "[The shooting] does not indicate a tendency to vice or violence or any lack of probity. It has neither connection with nor significance for any professional function. There is no evidence that the appellant [previously] committed acts of violence towards his ex-wife or any other person …" the tribunal said.

However, a summons was issued to Dr Sliwinski over an allegation that he assaulted her by attempting to choke her in August 1986.

The AVO application, seen by the Herald, alleged that Dr Sliwinski, who had been drinking heavily, said to his wife, "If I hear you have done anything to foul up my career I will kill you", and had assaulted her three or four times during their five-year marriage. The AVO was withdrawn by his wife.

Three years before the killing, he was twice told to take sick leave from his job as a psychiatric registrar at Morriset Hospital due to his depressed mental state and concerns that he was suicidal.

He was also told to take sick leave from the Mater Hospital in Newcastle not long after that.

In 1987 he was sacked from a practice at Kilburn Bay and told to seek psychiatric help. He had come to the North Coast after he left Moree Hospital in 1980 after "difficulties with the Medical Board, [and] with the Hospital Board", and moved to Newcastle, the tribunal said.

He had been investigated by the Medical Board for failing to attend to an unconscious patient at Moree who had had a stroke, and was cautioned over the incident.

A spokeswoman for the Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service, Jenny Dennis, said: "All appropriate background checks required at the time of his employment were conducted." She later confirmed "this included the NSW Medical Board".

"Central Coast Mental Health Service can confirm that Dr Sliwinski complied with the restrictions placed on him by the Medical Board," she said. She said there had been "no formal complaints about his work".

Ms Light, said it was the responsibility of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists to determine whether Dr Sliwinski was fit for psychiatry. The college would not comment.

The board's registrar, Andrew Dix, said it regularly monitored conditions. "It's up to the doctor to comply but if they don't comply we know about it very quickly because we've got a data base following this," Dr Dix said.

Alice's sister, Noleen Tasoulis, said the family was devastated that Dr Sliwinski was practising psychiatry. "I think it's disgusting," Mrs Tasoulis said.

She alleged that at the time of his marriage to her sister he was a "violent" alcoholic and her sister supported him with $335,000 she won in a lottery just before they married. "The seven years that he was married to my sister … he was in various [psychiatric] clinics … so it seems rather unbelievable that he could even practise."

Dr Sliwinski had a solicitor, Denis Williams, contact the Herald to arrange an interview yesterday to respond to questions about his past and what monitoring he was subjected to by the area health service.

Dr Sliwinski did not show up but a senior psychiatrist, Chris Tennant, who is a visiting medical officer at Gosford and Wyong hospitals, did, and strongly defended him.

Professor Tennant said "he met all the conditions imposed on him by the board".

He said whether he told the tribunal he was considering a career in psychiatry was irrelevant. "It's not their business," he said.

He declared the Herald "mother f---ers" after the meeting.

Mr Williams said Dr Sliwinski's suitability had been "extensively considered" by the college and the tribunal. "There's been no record anywhere of this bloke not doing the right thing since the day he was readmitted," he said.

Asked whether Dr Sliwinski divulged to the tribunal that there had been other allegations of assaulting his wife, Mr Williams said: "It's too long ago."

Asked about the alleged threat Dr Sliwinski made to his wife that he would kill her, Mr Williams said: "I think we'll end this now. Goodbye."

Psychiatrist's license revoked

A report from The Desert Sun of Palm Springs, California

The California Medical Board has revoked a Coachella Valley psychiatrist's medical license, alleging gross negligence, prescribing drugs to addicts, lying to the board, failing to keep accurate medical records and having sexual relations with a former patient.

Richard Duboe Seigle, who was employed part-time by the county of Riverside from October 2002 to February 2007 and has had practices in Carlsbad and Monterey, can petition in three years for reinstatement, according to the medical board. His license, issued in 1981, was revoked May 30.

When contacted Friday, Seigle declined to comment.

An expert called to testify in May told the board that Seigle's care of one patient "was not the worst example of patient care she had ever seen provided by a psychiatrist, but it was close," according to a 49-page California Medical Board document outlining the case.

Lithium toxicity

Also according to that document, a female patient he began treating in April 2000 had a diagnosis of borderline personality, depression, and possible attention deficit disorder, and said she was taking Thorazine, Klonopin, Prozac and Seroquel as well as several other medications.

Seigle prescribed her Adderall, Ritalin, Depakote, Klonopin, Prozac, Xanax, Effexor XR and Thorazine.

In November 2000, Seigle started her on lithium , but did not get blood and other tests.

"In July 2001, Dr. Seigle noted (the patient) was having difficulty speaking and that her speech was slurred. Dr. Seigle was unfamiliar with the signs and symptoms of Lithium toxicity and despite the clear signs indicating possible Lithium toxicity, Dr. Seigle did not order a blood test to determine (the patient's) Lithium level. At the time, (the patient) was taking somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 mg," the medical board document stated.

When blood tests were ordered by another physician, it became clear her lithium level was 2.2, well into the toxic range.

"Upon learning of the patient's elevated lithium level, Dr. Seigle did not order a further workup; instead he directed that (the patient) discontinue taking lithium for 24 hours and then resume lithium at a dose of 600 mg daily."

The patient stopped seeing Seigle, but the two continued to exchange e-mails. In January 2006, Seigle messaged her that he had been reported to the medical board by a patient who had been on pain medications.

"If you filed with the board, I would not be able to work with poor people anymore. If I lose my license, I would no longer be able to prescribe medications. I see about 15 people a day three times a week. That is a lot of people to help. They feel like you did at one time, that I was the best psychiatrist they have ever seen."

The Desert Sun contacted several psychiatrists outside the case for their take on this incident.

Dr. Donna Mehrejany, who specializes in adult, child and adolescent psychiatry in La Jolla, said: "I don't ever start more than one medication at a time."

As for the lithium: "It's standard practice to obtain lab work when you prescribe a drug like lithium," said Dr. Andrew Elliott, of Palm Springs.

Possible relationship

Seigle is also alleged to have had a sexual relationship with a former female patient who had a history of alcoholism, depression, bipolar mood shifts, suicide attempts and obsessive-compulsive disorder. She was his patient from 1998 to 2002.

In 2004, the two stayed at a bed and breakfast in Idyllwild, attended a tennis match, and visited valley casinos. Seigle also invited her to a beach house in Rosarito, Mexico, where he ordered margaritas, knowing she was a recovering alcoholic.

A psychiatrist who testified about the ethical issues said the relationship "involved several extreme departures from the standards of care incumbent upon a psychiatrist."

Board Revokes License for Child Psychologist

In a followup to a long and ongoing case, we have this news item:

The State of Ohio has revoked the medical license of local child psychologist. Doctor Leo D'Souza was indicted by a Hamilton County Grand Jury in February on charges of gross sexual imposition and sexual imposition involving his young patients.

Court documents state the psychiatrist repeatedly fondled one boy in at least six office visits. In another case he is accused of examining an eight-year-old for a sexually transmitted disease. The alleged incidents happened at D'Souza's offices in Milford and Westwood.

The Ohio Medical Board examiner found that Doctor D'Souza failed to conform to minimal standard of care.

See also these earlier stories on this case

• Closed Hearings in Psychiatrist Child Molestation Case
• More Information on Psychiatrist under investigation
• Another man sues psychiatrist over sexual molestation

BBC Talking Head Psychiastrist Tonmoy Sharma Is Banned From Practising In Britain - Did Studies for Eli Lilly

As Reported in the Telegraph

A psychiatrist who regularly appeared as an expert on the BBC has been struck off the medical register after he lied about his academic qualifications and performed unethical drugs tests on mentally ill patients.

Tonmoy Sharma, who was a senior lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, has been exposed as a fraud who repeatedly referred to himself as a "professor" when records show that he had never completed a PhD thesis.

Despite this, Sharma, who was registered at the Clinical Neuroscience Research Centre in Dartford, Kent, regularly used the letters PhD after his name and managed to deceive the NHS and some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies.

He also appeared on the BBC2 series Mind of a Murderer in 2000 and was often used as an expert commentator on BBC News Online stories.

A General Medical Council panel yesterday found Sharma guilty of "serious failings of personal integrity" after hearing that he recruited mentally ill patients to test drugs without seeking proper approval.

Andrew Popat, chairman of the panel, told Sharma: "Your persistent and wide-ranging dishonesty and untruthfulness, spanning a number of years, together with your lack of insight, is so serious that it is fundamentally incompatible with your continuing to be a registered medical practitioner."

Mr Popat said Sharma, the author of several books on mental illness, had "contributed significantly towards the advancement of medical science" and was highly regarded by his colleagues.

However, after a 10-month hearing, the GMC Fitness to Practise panel found Sharma guilty of serious professional misconduct and struck him off the medical register.

The 42-year-old, who trained in India, was found to have acted unprofessionally in relation to five major studies between 1997 and 2003, involving four leading pharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly and the Janssen Research Foundation.

He also misled the companies when he chose to use identical patients in different studies, subjecting them to MRI scans and tests that had not been approved by an ethics committee. In 2003, he recruited mental health patients in unsolicited telephone calls and without consent from their doctors. He then failed to give them proper information about the trials - one schizophrenic was simply handed a leaflet.

His misconduct was first uncovered by the drugs company Sanofi, and a complaint resulting in his temporary suspension was made to the Institute of Psychiatry in 2001, prompting an investigation.

Sharma, who represented himself at the hearing, denied the claims and insisted that he "believed in ethics in medicine".

Psychiatrist loses appeal over sex crimes

A report from the Washington Poston the final failed appeal of a psychiatrist caught doing the wrong thing. Part of a much larger article.

The hearing was entering its 10th hour Thursday night when Arlington County psychiatrist Martin H. Stein learned that his 40-year career as a practicing physician was effectively over.

The Virginia Board of Medicine denied Stein's petition to reinstate the license he surrendered six years ago for his treatment of 10 patients, among them a 4-year-old whose legs he bound with duct tape.

The three-member panel found that Stein had harmed 17 other patients by over-prescribing sometimes dangerous combinations of drugs, diagnosing nonexistent conditions and engaging in unethical behavior with female patients.

Stein, 67, who declared personal bankruptcy five years ago and has been sued more than 15 times since 1995, may reapply or appeal. But both are expensive, time-consuming processes with virtually no chance of success.

Links to earlier Stories

• From the Archives: Va. Doctor's Misconduct Left Trail of Broken Lives
• From the Archives: A Broken Marriage And a 'Life Destroyed'

Psychiatrist Fails to Get License Restored

Via the Washington Post

The Virginia Board of Medicine said last night that it would not restore the medical license of well-known Arlington County psychiatrist Martin H. Stein.

In 2002, Stein was stripped of his medical licenses in Virginia and the District for negligence; inappropriate and excessive prescribing of drugs for patients as young as 4; and sexually intimate behavior with a patient.

During a nine-hour hearing in Richmond, Stein, 67, apologized for "any harm" he caused but told the three-member panel he wanted a second chance to offer "some very special skills." The Maryland psychiatrist treating Stein for bipolar disorder testified that Stein was fit to return to limited practice.

The panel sided with the recommendation of its staff and a director of a program for troubled doctors at Virginia Commonwealth University. Physician Patricia Pade told the board that Stein's problems were the result of "characterological" issues, not just mental illness.

Psychiatrist Convicted Of Prescription Fraud Loses Appeal

Report from Maine's WMTW TV

A psychiatrist who founded a methadone clinic in Westbrook has lost his appeal of his conviction and six-month prison sentence for prescription fraud.

A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston denied the appeal of Dr. Marc Shinderman, who was found guilty in 2006 of writing prescriptions for controlled substances using another doctor's name and drug registration number.

Shinderman, who started CAP Quality Care in 2001, was not licensed to write the prescriptions in Maine and said he believed that the arrangement was acceptable.

In its ruling Tuesday, the appeals court rejected all four of Shinderman's arguments, including the trial judge's refusal to allow jurors to hear his proposed entrapment defense and the use of an obstruction of justice enhancement during sentencing.

Another psychiatrist sex scandal

A report from Cleveland County, North Carolina.

A Shelby psychiatrist, accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a patient, signed a consent order indefinitely suspending her medical license.

Dr. Kerry L. Balentine was accused of having a romantic relationship with one of her patients after that patient’s wife died in September 2006. Balentine began grief counseling the patient, the consent order said. She had previously treated him for about a year.

According to documents from the North Carolina Medical Board, Balentine began the relationship after accepting an invitation for coffee.

The order said Balentine stopped seeing the patient in her office in October 2006, “implying that he was discharged from her care but not clearly terminating their physician-patient relationship.”

It also stated that Balentine provided prescriptions for medications, including controlled substances to the patient, after the relationship began and did not chart them.

“Dr. Balentine admits that her relationship with (the patient) violated boundaries as well as the ethics of the psychiatric profession and the medical profession as a whole,” the document said.

According to the consent order, dated Dec. 14, Balentine’s license is indefinitely suspended, she agrees to obey all laws, rules and regulations involving medical practice, she is required to notify the board of any change in residence or practice and that she will meet with the board as requested.

If she fails to comply with the order, the board will have grounds to annul, suspend or revoke her medical license.

She had medical privileges at Cleveland Regional Medical Center and Kings Mountain Hospital.

CFB Gagetown psychiatrist loses license, again

From this New Brunswick Canada report

A former St. John's psychiatrist who had admitted to having sex with a patient has lost his medical licence in a second province.

Dr. James Hanley, whose Newfoundland and Labrador licence was revoked in March, has now had his privileges taken away in New Brunswick. He closed his psychiatric practice in St. John's in 2005, before relocating to New Brunswick.

Hanley, who had admitted that he had a sexual relationship with a patient, had been treating patients at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick, though, issued an interim suspension and review of his licence.

Hanley had argued that the military's dire need for psychiatric service should have helped him keep his licence.

But Dr. Ed Schollenberg, registrar of the New Brunswick college, said other factors were more important.

"The need was certainly real and it certainly needed to be thought of a great deal," Schollenberg said Tuesday.

"Inevitably, there is some harm to that access when you take action, but at the end of the day, you still have to decide that there are certain kinds of things which just cause you to forfeit your right to practice."

Hanley has a month to file an appeal of the New Brunswick college's decision.

Hanley's case became the first public hearing involving the Newfoundland and Labrador College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Hanley admitted to having had sex with patient Kathleen Wiseman, who had been under his care for 17 years. Wiseman brought a complaint to the Newfoundland and Labrador college, arguing that Hanley took advantage of her during a vulnerable period in 2003.

Hanley had voluntarily closed his office in 2005 and then relocated to CFB Gagetown.

Before the decision in March, the Canadian Forces had backed Hanley's work at the base. Defence officials have said there will be an increased need in the forces for psychiatric services as troops return from Afghanistan.

A Vancouver child psychiatrist groomed three teenage girls for sex, promised to marry two of them, and had intercourse with one girl in his office, says a report by the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons.

As seen in this report (edited for length) You can read the BCCPS Press Release here [PDF]

A Vancouver child psychiatrist expelled this week for sexual misconduct with three teenage girls groomed them for sex, promised to marry two of them, and had intercourse with one girl in his office, says a report by the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The report was issued Friday, a day after the college announced it had stripped Dr. Richard Leslie Golden of his right to practise medicine for unprofessional conduct, finding he acted as a "sexual predator" who used three young female patients for his own sexual gratification in 2000 and 2001.

One patient was 15 and two were 17 when they began seeing Golden for problems with an eating disorder and depression. The college found the young girls were from fragile family backgrounds. The report does not disclose their identity.

Dr. Doug Blackman, deputy registrar of the college, described Golden's conduct as an "appalling" abuse of trust.

"What this does is really impair the doctor-patient relationship," Blackman said Friday.

Golden, 49, has been struck from the college registrar, meaning he can no longer practise medicine in B.C., he added.

The child psychiatrist had an intimate sexual relationship with one girl at his office that included kissing, fondling, masturbation and oral sex. Golden also told the girl he loved her.

In another case, the psychiatrist asked his patient if she was a virgin, asked her to describe her underwear, and questioned her sexual activity.

The college found Golden began his relationship with the girl when she could not legally give consent and later encouraged her to end her doctor-patient relationship with him so he could continue his personal relationship with the girl.

The college says he gave the girl money, hugged her at the end of therapy sessions, and had cell phone contact with her for non-medical reasons. It also says he convinced one girl to break off a sexual relationship with a young male and dishonestly led two of the girls to believe he had terminated the doctor-patient relationship so their sexual relationships could continue.

He promised to marry two of the girls, according to the college report, which says: "The promises were as empty then as they turned out to be when reality arrived for these unfortunate young women."

The college conducted an inquiry into the complaints before a committee on Aug. 23 and 24, but neither Golden nor his lawyer attended the hearing, which found Golden guilty of unprofessional and infamous conduct.

Golden used a "grooming process" by making favourable comments about the girl's bodies, hair and appearance, he would suggest they regard him as a confidante and call him on his cell phone after office hours, the college found.

At his office at 777 W. Broadway, he would begin holding their hands, which would later progress to hugging, kissing and fondling.

"As the relationships progressed, he would schedule office appointments for the last appointment of the day, usually on a Friday or Saturday morning, to minimize the risk of detection," the college report said.

The girls testified that their relationship with Golden made them feel special and they thought he had feelings for them. "I was in love with him," one said.

The doctor's cell phone records and e-mail provided a "paper trail" that supported the testimony of the complainants, the college found.

According to the most recent annual report from the B.C. Medical Services Commission, Golden billed the government $446,477 for treating patients during the 2005 fiscal year.

Golden had been a member of the college since 1986 and graduated from medical school at the University of Manitoba in 1981. He was married with children at the time the college began investigating his conduct.

He had been recommended by the Autism Society of B.C. as a child psychiatrist with experience in autism disorders.

Golden is facing two civil lawsuits filed by his former patients, who claim damages for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.

One of the women, an unemployed single mother, claims that Golden's negligence in initiating sexual relations exacerbated her psychiatric condition, affected her ability to form lasting relationships, and has made her depressed and suicidal.

The other woman claims she has also become extremely depressed, suicidal and suffers from self-mutilation.

Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are Golden's wife of 25 years, Susan Golden, also a psychiatrist and a partner with her husband in their business, Westside Family Psychiatric Services Inc.

The lawsuit claims Susan Golden was vicariously liable for her husband's actions and should have known her husband was entering into inappropriate sexual relationships with patients -- allegations Susan Golden denies in her statement of defence filed in B.C. Supreme Court.

Earlier this year, Susan Golden went to court and had her husband declared incapable of managing his own affairs because of mental incapacity arising from a major depressive disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Court documents said that Richard Golden was receiving a $10,525 monthly disability allowance from an insurance policy.

An affidavit filed by Richard Golden's treating physician, Dr. Michael Myers, says Golden is very ill, exhibits symptoms of depression, high anxiety, fatigue and easily becomes disoriented as to time and place.

The doctor stated that Richard Golden is incapable of managing his own affairs or instructing legal counsel.