Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, 729/Med15/316D (19 August 2015)
The Director of Proceedings laid a charge against General Practitioner, Dr Vijay Harypursat, in the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal concerning the care he provided to a young, vulnerable, female patient with a significant psychiatric history.
The charge against Dr Harypursat related to a failure to maintain appropriate professional boundaries. Dr Harypursat sent numerous inappropriate text messages to his patient, in which he persistently conveyed his romantic and sexual attraction for her, despite her attempts to deter him and to return the relationship to a professional footing. Dr Harypursat used his position as her GP to facilitate (and attempt to facilitate) meetings and conversations outside the clinical relationship, he gave her gifts of earrings, he used the pretext of "wonky" blood test results to manipulate her into meeting him (when the results were fine), and so on. The matter proceeded by way of an agreed summary of facts, with Dr Harypursat accepting the charge.
The Tribunal found that this was a very serious case of professional misconduct and "by a very fine margin" suspended Dr Harypursat's registration for nine months, censured him, upheld the conditions already imposed on his practising certificate by the Medical Council for three years (or until he has completed a Sexual Misconduct Assessment to the satisfaction of the Medical Council), and imposed 40% costs.
The Tribunal's decision can be found at:
https://www.hpdt.org.nz/Charge-Details?file=Med15/316D
Last reviewed February 2019