Sexual Misconduct Cases - News
14.03.08
VICTORIA- Specialist doctor jailed for sexual assault of 14 patients.
Melbourne dermatologist has been jailed for more than 8 years. David Wee Kin Tong assaulted the female patients over a period of 6 years in clinics in Preston, Malvern and Clifton Hill.
Source: news.com.au 14.03.08.
07.03.08
Doctor who raped his daughters, finally banned from practice
Health authorities failed to strip a brisbane GP of his right to practice medicine despite a string of criminal convictions in Queensland and interstate.
The Brisbane doctor, was twice jailed in 2005 for repeatedly sexually abusing his 10 and 11 year-old daughters. He also previously faced disciplinary action after admitting to maintaining sexual relationships with at least eight female patients.
The Supreme Court of Appeal in Brisbane finally stepped in, overturning the Tribunal's decision and banning him forever - more than 10 years after the first official complaint was made.
Source: Brisbane Times 07.03.08
13.12.07
Doctor Loses High Court Appeal over sex with 13 year old girl.
A South Australian GP's appeal to have his conviction for having sex with an underage girl quashed because he believed she was 17 at the time has been dismissed.
In a majority 3-2 decision, the High Court held that the date at which the sexual intercourse took place was not essential to proving the offence of having sex with a child aged between 12 and 17. The South Australia doctor, identified only as WGC, was charged with having sexual intercourse with the girl in 1986 but claimed the incident happened in 1989.
He admitted to having consensual sex with the girl, who in 1989 was 16, though he said he believed she was 17. The prosecution said that when the offences occurred in 1986 the girl was 13.
The offences happened on a houseboat on the Murray River near Renmark, where the doctor shared holidays with the girl's parents. The charges against the 58-year-old were brought by the woman, now 35, about 20 years after the offences occurred.
Last year a jury found the GP guilty of two counts of having sexual intercourse with a child.
An appeal against the conviction to the South Australian Court of Criminal appeal was unsuccessful and WGC then took the matter to the High Court. He was relying, under the Criminal Law Consolidation Act, on the fact his belief the girl was 17 was a defence to the charge and attracted different penalties to those for having sex with someone younger.
Judges Kenneth Hayne, John Heydon and Susan Crennan said the date of offence was not material and all the prosecution had to prove was that the girl was aged between 12 and 17 at the time. Dissenting justices Michael Kirby and William Gummow said the convictions should be quashed and a new trial ordered.
WGC faces sentencing by the South Australian District Court.
Source: The Australian 13.12.07.
23.10.07
Doctor pleads guilty to 14 rape, assault charges.
A TOORAK doctor has pleaded guilty to raping seven patients at his Preston clinic between 2001 and March this year.
Source: The Age 23.10.07
23.08.07
Doctor charged with sexual assault.
The 49-year-old doctor yesterday handed himself in to Auburn police station and was charged with two counts of sexual assault and one of indecent assault.
He was granted conditional bail to appear in Burwood Local Court on September 20.
Source: SMH 23.08.07
24.01.07
Doctor drugged, raped patient.
A NEW South Wales doctor who drugged and raped a patient was today jailed for 13 years by a Sydney court.
Rafid Alramadan, 55, was convicted of three charges over the incident at his Grenfell surgery on December 8, 2005, in which he drugged a female patient with the tranquilliser diazepam, then indecently assaulted and raped her.
In Downing Centre District Court today, Alramadan was sentenced to a maximum of 13 years and three months, with a non-parole period of 10 years and three months. He has been in custody since September last year and will be eligible for parole in December 2016.
Doctor drugged, raped patient
NEWS.com.au, Australia - 24 Jan 2007
Rapist doctor jailed for 13 years in NSW
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 24 Jan 2007
Doctor jailed for drugging, raping patient
The Australian, Australia - 24 Jan 2007
06.10.06
Medical board moves to have sex assault doctor struck off.
The New South Wales Medical Board is moving to have an Iraqi-trained doctor convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting a patient at Grenfell, in the state's central west, struck off the medical register. A board spokesman says Dr Alramadan is likely to be struck off, even if he wins any appeal against his conviction.
(ABC News, 6 October 2006)
Disgraced psychiatrist loses appeal over deregistration.
A former Launceston psychiatrist has failed in his bid to overturn his removal from the medical register.
Ian Anthony Martin was found guilty of professional misconduct last year and struck from the register.
The Medical Complaints Tribunal found that he had had a sexual relationship with the woman between January and March 2004.
(ABC News, 6 October 2006)
[Martin v Medical Complaints Tribunal [2006] TASSC 73]
05.10.06
Doctor to practise despite rape case.
Queensland's Medical Board has ruled that a surgeon convicted of rape, who was employed in the state's public hospital system, can continue to practise.
But Health Minister Stephen Robertson's office said yesterday that Eugene Sherry, 53, whose conviction and jailing went undetected by the Medical Board, would not be invited back to the public system.
The revelation by Premier Peter Beattie on the eve of calling the state election that Dr Sherry had been convicted of rape led to a pledge to strengthen the Medical Board, with a police officer to ensure that a thorough check of each candidate's credentials was carried out and a search made of any criminal history.
The pledge followed the board's controversial reregistration earlier this year of a pethidine-addicted doctor, who was also convicted of rape.
(Australian, 5 October 2006)
29.09.06
Court room drama unfolds in doctor assault case.
A jury's guilty verdict against a Grenfell doctor brought drama to the Wagga District Court in southern NSW yesterday.
Dr Rafid Alramadan, who has been accused of drugging and raping a female patient, labelled the jury racist.
Alramadan has told the judge the complainant was a drug addict, and has also raised the issue of Australia's involvement in the war in Iraq.
He says the charges result from his Muslim identity.
The Iraqi-trained doctor was charged last December with administering a stupefying drug to commit aggravated sexual assault on a patient at his surgery in Grenfell.
No date has been set for sentencing.
(ABC News, 29 September 2006)
Flat-foot feeler gets flick.
A DOCTOR who subjected a patient to a breast examination after she sought treatment for flat feet lost his bid to be reinstated as a medical practitioner yesterday.
Bruce Litchfield has admitted conducting "non-standard examinations'' on four women for his own sexual gratification.
In May 1987, Litchfield placed a patient's hand on his penis as he fitted her with a contraceptive device. In March 1992, while working in a Brookvale surgery, Litchfield attended to a 20-year-old woman who sought his advice about her flat feet. Within minutes, she was undergoing a breast examination from the doctor, who "made an inappropriate remark about a tan mark on her body''. Eight months later, Litchfield inappropriately touched a patient's breasts and vagina before telling her she was suffering from "stress''.
Since being struck off the medical register for professional misconduct in 1996, Litchfield has tried unsuccessfully to pursue a career in real estate.
Yesterday he was back before the tribunal, vowing he was a changed man and pleading for a chance to practise medicine again.
But yesterday, the tribunal ruled he would be at risk of re-offending if allowed to practise again.
"(We do) not accept that Mr Litchfield has the required level of insight into his misconduct,'' they ruled.
"The tribunal was not satisfied that Mr Litchfield would not re-offend if reinstated to the register of medical practitioners.
"This conclusion was reached because it was apparent that Mr Litchfield has not yet come to terms with his misconduct and that he did not ... have a broad understanding of the nature or significance of that misconduct.''
In 1993, a NSW District Court jury acquitted Litchfield of criminal charges arising from his treatment of one of the patients.
(Daily Telegraph, 30 September 2006)
18.09.06
Dirty doctor loophole to be closed.
THE State Government will close a legal loophole that allows convicted rapists to work as doctors.
Work is already under way on new laws to stop doctors convicted of certain offences from continuing to treat patients in Queensland's health system.
The move comes in the wake of public outrage after the Queensland Medical Board re-registered convicted rapist and known drug addict James Samuel Manwaring in July.
After pleading guilty in 2002 to a vicious attack against his then wife, Manwaring was told by District Court judge Brian Hoath that nothing could 'excuse your involvement in these offences'.
However, the Health Practitioner's Tribunal last July allowed him to immediately apply for re-registration after he had met a stipulation to submit hair for drug testing. He passed the drug test and was registered to work within days. The tribunal imposed a further 24 conditions on his registration which would be strictly monitored.
The board said its hands were tied by laws which forced them to allow Manwaring to re-register if he met the tribunal's criteria.
At the time Mr Beattie vowed to investigate closing the loophole, ordering a report from the Medical Board into the laws and any potential effects.
Manwaring's victim Pat Gillespie, who has agreed to be identified, said there was no way Manwaring should be allowed to treat patients.
She welcomed Mr Beattie's announcement, saying it would protect all Queenslanders.
Source: Gold Coast Bulletin
11.09.06
Doctor keeps working after sexual misconduct claims.
A DOCTOR from Sri Lanka is being allowed to work at a Queensland regional hospital despite documented complaints from six female patients alleging sexual misconduct.
The report of a formal investigation into the doctor by the Medical Board of Queensland said he had "inappropriately and unnecessarily undressed patients, fondled breasts during examination, conducted an inappropriate vaginal examination without using gloves, and demonstrated incompetence in his use of a stethoscope and thermometer".
But despite the concerns of the board Naleen Keerthi Priyamanna, who was recruited to work in the emergency department of the Mackay Base Hospital in March 2003, has had his registration renewed.
see article by Hedley Thomas and Clara Pirani (Australian, 11 September 2006)
27.08.06
Doctor's sexual conduct scrutinised.
The Victorian Medical Practitioners Board will examine a judge's comments about a former child psychiatrist when deciding whether to investigate sexual misconduct complaints against him. (Sunday Age, 27 August 2006)
Doubts over doctor
Doctors opposed a surgeon being given a job at Rockhampton Base Hospital, before his conviction for rape was revealed. (Sunday Mail (Qld), 27 August 2006)
26.08.06
Fit to practise.
Medical regulators are under fire for making it too easy for doctors guilty of sexually assaulting patients to continue to practise. Clara Pirani reports-
IT was a brutal crime, committed by a drug addict with a long history of erratic behaviour. The accused had already lost several jobs as a result of his drug addiction, and he was allegedly becoming increasingly violent.
On November 3, 2000, the Queensland man dragged a woman into a bedroom, bashing her as she screamed and attempted to escape. He forcibly removed her clothes and raped her.
In 2002 he pleaded guilty to rape, deprivation of liberty and assault and was sentenced to five years' jail.
However, the case stands apart from other cases of sexual assault because the rapist is a doctor, and last month the Medical Board of Queensland renewed his registration.
James Samuel Manwaring had previously been struck off the register in the mid-1990s after a psychiatric evaluation found "he constitutes a significant danger to any patient he may have to look after".
However, Manwaring is not the only doctor in Australia with a criminal conviction. Two weeks ago, another Queensland doctor had his registration cancelled after it was revealed he failed to disclose a previous rape conviction.
In 1981 Eugene Sherry and two other doctors were convicted of raping a nurse in the US. Sherry was imprisoned for six months and moved to Australia in 1984, and worked in Sydney for 20 years. His 2004 application to work in Queensland was approved under a process that allows doctors to be mutually registered in other states.
Sherry disclosed the conviction to the NSW Medical Board, but when he moved to Queensland the NSW board did not inform its Queensland counterpart, and nor did he.
The cases illustrate weaknesses in Australia's fragmented medical registration system and raise the question: should doctors convicted of sexual assault be allowed to practise?
In many instances, medical boards allow doctors found guilty of sexual assault to continue to practise if they are closely supervised, or a "chaperone" is present during consultations.
The NSW Medical Board decided last year that a cosmetic surgeon charged with aggravated sexual assault on a patient could continue to practise as long as a nurse was present when he examined female patients.
However, Joanna Flynn, president of the Australian Medical Council - which assesses overseas-trained doctors and accredits medical colleges - told The Australian that doctors who cannot be trusted to treat patients unsupervised should be struck off the register.
Flynn, who also is president of the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria, says "if a determining body believes it is necessary to have a doctor chaperoned because they are not confident the patient would be safe, in my view that doctor should not be registered.
"Patients must be able to trust their doctor. They may want to question the doctor on medical information, but they need to be able to trust they won't be mistreated by the doctor."
The Australian Medical Association's Queensland president Zelle Hodge says the idea of supervising doctors with a criminal past is fine in theory, but almost impossible to implement. She says medical boards and organisations that employ medical staff don't have the time to consistently monitor doctors.
"The medical boards simply do not have the resources to go out and police these restrictions," Hodge says. "It's up to the doctor's employer to monitor the doctor's performance and make sure they are supervised, and sometimes that doesn't happen."
In a case currently before the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria, a GP is facing suspension for a second time over allegations he conducted a pap smear that was more "sexual than medical", while making sexually suggestive comments to the patient.
The GP, Richard George Young, had his licence suspended for 15 months in 2001 after engaging in sexual relationships with two vulnerable female patients. His licence was renewed on the condition a chaperone be present when he examined female patients.
NSW Medical Board chief executive Andrew Dix defended the use of chaperones to monitor doctors who had committed serious offences. But he admitted the system did not guarantee the doctor would not re-offend.
"We have a comprehensive chaperoning protocol which requires the regular submission of the chaperone's reports to the board," he said. "But if doctors are determined to be dishonest, some will manage to get away with things."
Dix says it's a balancing act to ensure the patient's right to the best possible care and the right of doctors to be given the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves.
He says each case is assessed individually and there are no offences that automatically lead to a doctor being struck off the register.
"There are doctors who have been struck off a long time ago who periodically apply for restoration who are denied.
"But historically the system has been based on the idea that people are able to redeem their character. And there are no black and white rules about what constitutes good character."
However, some argue that while doctors may have the right to a second chance, the public has a right to know if their doctor has a criminal record, or restrictions placed on their registration.
Merilyn Walton, an associate professor of ethical practice at the University of Sydney's school of medicine, says patients should be notified if their doctor has been disciplined by a medical board. "Doctors should be required to put a notice in their waiting room saying they are supposed to be supervised," she says. "If I was a patient of that doctor, I would want to know."
Flynn believes all the details of a doctor's registration should be easily assessable to the public. However, Australia does not have a national medical register. Rather, each state has its own slightly different system of assessing and registering medical staff.
In April 2004 all the state health ministers announced that a nationally consistent medical registration system, called the Australian Index of Medical Practitioners, would be introduced.
The ministers agreed the new model should provide greater public access to medical register information, including an online index of medical practitioners.
Two years later the states still operate independently and there's been little progress in improving public access to medical board information.
Currently only the medical boards in Queensland, South Australia and the ACT have websites that provide detailed information about doctors' registration.
Walton says most medical boards have failed to inform patients about the medical registration process.
"The big challenge for medical boards is to improve the level of transparency of their processes so the community understands how and why they make decisions. The public need to be engaged in the discussion about what standards they want."
The failings of the state-by-state system were highlighted in March this year, when it was revealed that the Hunter New England Area Health Service in NSW waited almost 18 months before investigating an overseas-trained doctor banned elsewhere in the state for misdiagnosing 208 patients in 2004.
Farid Zaer, a pathologist trained in India and the US, was banned by the Illawarra Area Health Service in April 2004 after a review of 6300 patient records found he had failed to correctly analyse tests for many diseases, including cancer.
In late 2004 it notified the Hunter New England Area Health Service, where the doctor had worked between 1999 and 2001, that it was investigating him. The Hunter service did not begin to review the records of 7300 patients diagnosed by Zaer until March this year.
The doctor has since moved to Queensland, where he is registered to practise unsupervised as a GP and as a pathologist under strict supervision.
The case again prompted calls for the establishment of an Australian index of medical practitioners that would record whether doctors have been disciplined by any of the state medical boards, or had any restrictions placed on their practice.
Walton believes the mutual recognition process allows doctors of questionable character or ability to move interstate and continue to practise.
"We have mutual recognition, but it caters to the lowest common denominator," she says. "So if one state is weak around disciplinary matters, then that person can be registered in other states based on a weak disciplinary structure. There is also a lack of exchange between regulatory boards and the community. I can't believe we don't have a national registration system yet."
In July, the Council of Australian Governments meeting announced medical boards would be abolished and replaced with a single national registration scheme covering nine health professional groups.
For the plan to proceed, each state and territory would have to introduce legislation.
The proposal overrides the Australian Medical Council's plan to revamp the existing medical board registration system. The AMC had wanted to give every doctor an identifying number that would allow their details to be accessed through a national register.
Flynn says she is unclear about the details of the proposed specialist registers and what impact they would have on the AMC's plan.
Whatever plan is eventually implemented, she is adamant that it must give patients better access to doctors' details.
"The public has a right to know if there are conditions on a doctor's registration or if there have been serious disciplinary or criminal offences proven against the doctor," Flynn says. "It's long overdue."
Source: Clara Pirani , The Australian.
Our Comments-
In some States of Australia eg NSW, it is compulsory for doctors to carry professional indemnity insurance. So if a doctor is negligent, it is the insurer who pays for the compensation.
However, compulsory medical practice indemnity policies have multiple exclusion clauses. The doctor will not always be indemnified, and the patient may well be left uncompensated. The main insurer in NSW, United Medical Protection, has an exclusion clause for sexual misconduct in their policies. Other medical indemnity insurers in other States have similar exclusions, which are permitted under the current law.
So if you are a victim of sexual misconduct and as a result you have suffered psychological damage, and wage loss because you are unable to work, you will probably not receive any compensation because you will have to sue the doctor directly. If the doctor does not have substantial assets, then it's probably not worth suing at all. And so the doctor gets away with it...
23.08.06
Patient affair doctor reinstated.
A former Townsville doctor struck off the register six years ago for having sex with a patient has been re-registered by Queensland Health.
Dr Patrick Kerrisk was struck off for having sex with a patient and prescribing drugs to addicts but in 2004, the Medical Review Board reinstated him.
He is now practising on Mornington Island in the Gulf.
Health Minister Stephen Robertson says strict conditions for the doctor's re-employment have resulted in satisfactory reviews of his performance.
"Until such time that there may be a breach of those conditions, it's not appropriate for me as Minister to intervene," he said.
(ABC News, 23 August 2006)
$55,000 to patient over sex assault.
A WOMAN who claimed a psychiatrist molested her during treatment for depression has won a $55,000 payout.
The woman sued Dr Selwyn Leeks, 77, claiming he sexually assaulted her 26 years ago when she saw him for treatment as a young mum.
She claimed the sessions progressed to touching, cuddling and sexual assault.
County Court Judge Jim Duggan on Monday ruled in the woman's favour, awarding damages and costs.
(Herald Sun, 23 August 2006)
21.08.06
Doctors stay on duty after sex assaults.
HEALTH authorities are putting patients at risk by allowing doctors who have committed criminal offences, including sexual assault, to continue to practise.
According to one of the nation's leading medical regulators, doctors found guilty of sexual assault can continue to practise in many cases, if they are closely supervised or a "chaperone" is present during consultations.
But Joanna Flynn, president of the Australian Medical Council -- which assesses overseas-trained doctors and accredits medical colleges -- said doctors who cannot be trusted to treat patients unsupervised should be struck off the register.
The NSW Medical Board decided last year that a cosmetic surgeon charged with aggravated sexual assault on a patient could continue to practise as long as a nurse was present when he examined female patients.
Another GP faces suspension for a second time over allegations he conducted a pap smear that was more "sexual than medical", while making sexually suggestive comments to the patient.
The GP had his licence suspended for 15 months in 2001 after engaging in sexual relationships with two vulnerable female patients. His licence was renewed on the condition a chaperone be present whenever he examined female patients.
Dr Flynn, who is president of the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria, would not comment on that case, but said doctors who needed a chaperone should not be allowed to practise.
"If a determining body believes it is necessary to have a doctor chaperoned because they are not confident the patient would be safe, in my view that doctor should not be registered," Dr Flynn told The Australian.
"Patients must be able to trust their doctor. They may want to question the doctor on medical information, but they need to be able to trust they won't be mistreated by the doctor."
NSW Medical Board chief executive Andrew Dix said there were no offences that automatically led to a doctor being struck off the register.
Dr Dix defended the use of chaperones to monitor doctors who had committed serious offences, but admitted the system did not guarantee the doctor would not reoffend.
"We have a comprehensive chaperoning protocol which requires the regular submission of the chaperone's reports to the board," he said.
"But if doctors are determined to be dishonest, some will manage to get away with things."
Only the medical boards of Queensland, South Australia and the ACT currently have websites that provide detailed information about the registration of doctors.
AMA Queensland president Zelle Hodge said medical boards and organisations that employed medical staff often lacked the resources to consistently monitor doctors.
"The medical boards simply do not have the resources to go out and police these restrictions," Dr Hodge said.
"It's up to the doctor's employer to monitor the doctor's performance and make sure they are supervised, and sometimes that doesn't happen."
Merilyn Walton, an associate professor of ethical practice at the University of Sydney's school of medicine, said patients should be notified if their doctor has been disciplined by a medical board.
"Doctors should be required to put a notice in their waiting room saying they are supposed to be supervised," she said.
Source: Clara Pirani, (Australian, 21 August 2006)
18.07.06
Sex GP wants licence back.
A FORMER doctor yesterday admitted he had conducted non-standard examinations for his own sexual gratification.
However, after trying his hand as a real estate agent, this doctor claims he is now fit to practice medicine once again.
Found guilty of sexual misconduct against three patients in 1996, the doctor yesterday applied to be re-enrolled as a general practitioner, claiming he was more mature and accepted his conduct had been inappropriate.
In 1987, while working in a surgery at Woolgoolga on the NSW North Coast, he placed a patient's hand on his penis after he fitted her with a contraceptive device.
Five years later, while practising at a Brookvale medical centre, he treated a 20-year-old woman who complained of having flat feet. Along with a recommendation for arch supports, the patient received a breast examination from him.
During the examination, he squeezed the woman's nipple and commented on her "funny tan marks".
Source: Brad Clifton, Daily Telegraph 18.07.06.
08.07.06
Steroid doctor struck off after erectile ruse
A Glenmore Park (NSW) doctor who gave body-builders steroids to self-inject to improve appearance and strength - and then claimed they were for erectile dysfunction - has been found guilty of professional misconduct and struck off the medical register.
The tribunal's deputy chairwoman, Judge Margaret Sidis, said in her judgement that the doctor had lied to the tribunal, and rejected his excuse of poor English. He showed little remorse or insight concerning potential severe harm to his patients, she said.
See article by Natasha Wallace: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/steroid-doctor-struck-off-after-erectile-ruse/2006/07/07/1152240493835.html
05.07.06
Rapist doctor back to work
THE Medical Board of Queensland is set to renew the practising rights of a doctor convicted and jailed four years ago for violent criminal offences, including rape.
The doctor, who graduated as a medical student from the University of Queensland in 1985, had a history of drug addiction which compromised the care he provided in jobs in Australia, the US and the United Kingdom.
He committed his most serious offences in 2000 against a woman, who suffered serious physical injuries and mental trauma.
After pleading guilty in late 2002 to rape, attempted rape, deprivation of liberty and assault, this doctor was told by District Court Judge Brian Hoath that nothing could "excuse your involvement in these offences". Source: Courier News online.
03.06.06
Doctor's female patient ban
A BLACKMANS Bay doctor accused of sexual impropriety has been suspended from treating female patients for at least six months.
Dr Ulhas Sriniwas Lad has been accused of sexual misconduct by two female patients.
The Medical Complaints Tribunal suspended its inquiry into the allegations on Wednesday, when two more women came forward to make complaints against Dr Lad.
Medical Council of Tasmania president Dr Mike Hodgson said the decision yesterday to suspend Dr Lad from treating female patients had been taken in the public interest.
It followed a number of further complaints from former patients of Dr Lad during the past few days, Dr Hodgson said.
"The partial suspension prohibits Dr Lad from consulting with female patients for an initial period of six months, pending the outcome of the formal inquiry," he said.
The suspension is effective in all Australian states and territories.
One female patient alleges Dr Lad fondled her breasts and buttocks, said he fantasised about her in the shower and would pay to watch her and that he masturbated in front of her.
The other woman alleges Dr Lad told her to remove all her clothes to get weighed, told her she was "very hairy" when he saw her legs, and that she was very attractive and "maybe some rich man would be happy to pay for a tummy operation for you".
Dr Lad denies all allegations.
See article By HEATHER LOW CHOY:
http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19347372%5E3462,00.html
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