NEWS 19
ausdoc . com . au 11 OCTOBER 2024
NEWS 19
Trainee GP asks widow to cry
Carmel Sparke A TRAINEE GP in the UK who pressured a recently bereaved widow to cry so he could display his empathy skills for an assessment video has been suspended for three months .
The patient had originally been booked to see a different GP at the practice , the UK Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service heard .
Aware the patient had recently lost her husband , Dr Christopher Ogbonna convinced her to see him instead and allow the consultation to be taped to help him in his training .
Rehearsal
Before the consultation in July 2022 , he contacted the patient to “ rehearse ” the answers he wanted her to give to his questions .
Then , on the day , Dr Ogbonna asked her to go over her husband ’ s death multiple times in front of the camera while he urged her to cry “ to enable him
to demonstrate empathy on his part ”, the tribunal heard .
“[ The patient ] was vulnerable , not just due to the presentation of her health concern but also due to having suffered bereavements in her family : she had lost her husband prior to this meeting with Dr Ogbonna and stated that she was still ‘ quite raw ’ from that ,” the tribunal wrote .
“ Dr Ogbonna had prioritised his needs over [ the patient ’ s ] welfare .”
Not satisfied with the video , Dr Ogbonna called the patient from his private mobile number and asked her to reshoot some of it .
When she refused , the GP then cried himself which , according to the tribunal , placed undue pressure on her to change her mind .
After the patient made a complaint to the practice , Dr Ogbonna self-notified to the General Medical Council .
At his hearing , Dr Ogbonna explained that he had been required to submit 12 recorded consultations for assessment and , at the time of seeing the patient , had submitted none .
‘ Dr Ogbonna was deeply affected by the stress of potentially failing to qualify as a GP .’
In his written statement , he explained he had been “ obsessed ” with repeating every detail of the consultation with the patient “ in search for perfection ” because he had failed the recorded consultation assessment twice .
Perder el norte
His lawyer likened Dr Ogbonna ’ s experience to the Spanish phrase perder el norte , which the tribunal said “ in practical terms meant to lose one ’ s moral compass ”.
“[ His lawyer ] argued that Dr Ogbonna , after years of dedicated service , was deeply affected by the stress of potentially failing to qualify as a GP … which led him to act out of character , causing distress to the patient ,” the tribunal said .
An isolated lapse
The tribunal was told that he had reflected on his actions and had received overwhelmingly positive feedback from colleagues and patients alike .
“[ According to his lawyer ], these testimonials describe him as … diligent , caring , attentive and knowledgeable , with one patient crediting him for life-saving care … reinforcing that his misconduct was an isolated lapse rather than a reflection of his usual conduct .” Dr Ogbonna ’ s lawyer also argued that he was unlikely to reoffend as he had now qualified as a GP .