Doctor suspended for boundary violations

27 Sep 2022

A Western Australian doctor has been suspended and will need to undergo education for failing to maintain appropriate professional and sexual boundaries with a patient.

Over several days in June 2020, the doctor failed to maintain the boundaries expected of a registered health practitioner. After consulting with a female patient at the practice where he worked, and then later assessing her at an emergency department, he continued to communicate with and see the patient on multiple occasions. This included having dinner together and engaging in sexual activity involving hugging and kissing. On another occasion, the patient met the doctor at the practice and the doctor engaged in sexual activity involving massaging the patient’s back, thighs and buttocks.

On 22 July 2020, the Board took immediate action to impose restrictions preventing the doctor from attending on any female patient while the matter was investigated.

The Board commenced proceedings against the doctor in the State Administrative Tribunal in Western Australia (the tribunal) on 25 November 2021.

On 29 April 2022, the tribunal ordered that the doctor engaged in professional misconduct and, as a result:

• suspended his registration for a period of 5 months from the date of the order under section 196(2)(d) of the National Law;
• once the suspension is lifted, ordered that conditions be imposed on his registration requiring him to undertake further education in relation to maintaining professional boundaries under section 196(2)(b) of the National Law;
• imposed a review period of 4 months for the above conditions under section 196(3) of the National Law; and
• ordered him to pay a contribution to the Board’s costs fixed in the sum of $7,000.

In considering its decision, the tribunal noted the impact the July 2020 gender-based restrictions had on the doctor’s ability to work as an international medical graduate without specialist registration.

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