Wife defends husband doctor accused of misconduct

The doctor told the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal he brought up breast health frequently because cancer was a major issue that should not be ignored. Photo / 123RF

The wife of a doctor accused of examining women's breasts when not clinically justified told a tribunal today her husband was honest and dedicated to his patients' health.

"He's quite a shy and humble person, but I would say that his directness could come across as such [arrogant]."

She said her husband would do anything to help his patients and he was devastated to find out he had offended some people.

Last week the woman was removed from the hearing after a complainant alleged she was making eye contact and had laughed at her.

The doctor saw significantly more patients than other doctors at the practice, citing one year where he saw 4400 patients compared to the next highest doctor who saw 2850 patients.

The Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) alleges the doctor's actions amount to misconduct and the examinations were not "clinically justified" or expected by the patients.

The comments allegedly included, "You know that you're very attractive don't you?" and "for your age, they're [breasts] quite full".

She also said she was present at the practice during one of the appointments he's alleged to have acted inappropriately and said she had texted him to hurry up.

He confirmed in the hearing today that he was still working as a general practitioner but was no longer at the practice where the alleged incidents took place and said many of his previous patients had followed him to his new workplace.

The North Island doctor is accused of telling a 15-year-old patient she should try masturbating, and initiating inappropriate breast examinations with multiple patients between 2011 and 2017.

He told the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal he brought up breast health frequently because cancer was a major issue that should not be ignored.

"It is a well-known fact in cases of breast cancer and wider to most cancer, that early treatment is a factor in survival."

He said after his 29 years of experience in the medical field he believed the majority of women did not have the skills to do an effective self-breast examination.

The doctor argued that prevention was a core part of his approach and believed it was his job to talk about cancer prevention.

He said some of the problems that arose were from inadequate support from the health centre.

One incident the man referred to was when a receptionist turned off the practice lights while he was conducting a breast exam.

He also said administrative staff failed to inform him patients had requested not to be seen by him.

An expert witness called for by the defence said a Google search showed there were conflicting views on self-breast examinations.

Dr James Reid said standard New Zealand documents support breast awareness without explicitly stating it.

During cross-examination, the PCC said the absence of a recommendation for clinician breast examinations in a BreastScreen Aotearoa document showed it wasn't recommended for the low-to-medium risk group.

Reid disagreed and said general practitioners did not need to follow guidelines slavishly.

"I don't think there's any real issue in offering to check women's breasts if they are concerned about them."

The doctor denies the charge and the hearing will wrap up on Friday.