Hands off, doctors: sex report

By BRIDGET CARTER

Doctors should be dissuaded from having sexual relationships with patients rather than punished afterwards, a report suggests.

The study of Medical Council policies estimates that more than 350 doctors may be breaching sexual boundaries with patients in New Zealand.

Yet it says the number of formal complaints suggests that only a fraction are reported.

The study says the doctor likely to breach sexual boundaries is a middle-aged, male GP, psychiatrist or gynaecologist who has been in practice for years. He sees mainly female patients and treats them differently from male patients.

He does not consult colleagues or is socially isolated. He believes he is superior. He could also be charismatic or fit into the "guru" category.

Clare Bear, an external evaluator for the report, described as a study of the Medical Council's sexual boundary policies and processes, said the council should emphasise prevention of sexual misconduct rather than punishment by starting support networks for doctors and educating patients and encouraging them to report misconduct immediately.

"The nature of sexual offending is a pattern of repeating and sometimes escalating behaviour, rather than a one-off slip. There is a 30 to 80 per cent risk of reoffending without rehabilitative treatment and relapse prevention strategies," she said.

"The council can empower the profession and public by providing a range of user-friendly information, guidelines and educational materials to increase confidence, trust and respect ...

"Policies over doctor-patient sexual boundaries need to be updated and presented in a standards-based rather than complaints framework."

Ms Bear suggested that the council set up an information phone-line and hire a professional investigator to report to the complaints assessment committee.

Medical Council chairman Dr Tony Baird said the council was considering all the recommendations and some had already been looked at.

The council had already written booklets called Good Medical Practice, but there had not been enough calls to warrant an information phone line.

The report also said there were questions about whether some doctors should be registered, given the risk of offending, and about the adequacy of conditions and criteria for reregistration. The monitoring of sexual misconduct of doctors was also identified as a serious concern.

But Dr Baird said indications in the report that the council was "soft" on doctors who breached sexual boundaries were simply not true.

The view of the Medical Council was that if just one doctor breached sexual boundaries, that was too many.

"We want to do all we can."