Whittington Hospital doctor guilty after sex with patient

Dr Ewere Onyekpe was treating a female patient who went to the A&E at Whittington Hospital suffering a back pain on June 5, 2020.

Before leaving, she gave her telephone number to the doctor, who later contacted her, asking how she was feeling and calling her “pretty”.

An employment tribunal heard that the patient returned to the hospital on June 10 complaining of chest pain and was treated by a different doctor.

• READ MORE: 'Relentless' abuse of NHS workers sees trust aim to tackle problem

During this time, she messaged Dr Onyekpe that she was in A&E and the conversation then became more graphic.

Dr Onyekpe asked the patient if she had sex to help with pain and if he could perform oral sex on her before she left the hospital.

The patient later visited the A&E department again, and the two had sex in the hospital toilets.

After this the consensual relationship continued, as he visited her home and had sex with her again.

They also exchanged naked photographs and had private conversations through WhatsApp.

• READ MORE: 'Parasitic' Crouch End fraudster found guilty of murdering Norma Girolami

The relationship petered out, but Dr Onyekpe was later arrested on suspicion of rape following an allegation made the patient.

He was referred to the GMC by the police and also self-referred to the GMC following his arrest on the August 3, 2020.

The police decided to take no further action against Dr Onyekpe in regard to the rape allegation.

In a witness statement shared in the tribunal, Dr Onyekpe said: "I appreciate that what I did was awful and that I let down myself and my family and my colleagues.

"I also accept the because the power imbalance between me as a doctor and her of the patient, it can be perceived that I took advantage of my professional position in pursuing this brief sexual relationship, consensual though it may have been."

The tribunal heard the case and found Dr Onyekpe guilty of misconduct.

• READ MORE: Supermarket shelves empty across north London in 'tomato shortage'

He was suspended for six months with immediate effect following the tribunal in January.

A review hearing has also been scheduled where he can make his case to potentially return to the doctor's register.

A spokesperson for Whittington Health NHS Trust said: “We expect all of our staff to uphold the very highest professional standards at all times and in all that they do.

"We took all appropriate actions as soon as we were alerted to this incident. We have since worked closely with relevant authorities to ensure that the matter could be fully and properly investigated.”