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A senior family GP has been suspended for three months after he handed over £10,000 in ‘hush money’ to a former patient.
Dr Toh Wong, 56, had forged a close platonic friendship with the woman, who is a born-again Christian, due to their shared interest in acupuncture.
But he found himself under investigation after the woman known as Patient A suddenly vowed to falsely report him for making sexual advances towards her unless he gave her money.
Wong made the payments claiming he felt ‘blackmailed and terrified’ she might ruin his career.
The woman who was vulnerable due to a history of mental health problems following a sexual assault in 2014 was formerly a patient at Wong’s surgery at the Westfield Practise in Exeter, Devon.
She was said to have harboured ‘occasional suicidal thoughts’ and ‘struggled with day to day living.’
Dr Toh Wong, a senior family GP, has been suspended after he gave £10,000 in ‘hush money’
Wong had forged a close platonic friendship with the woman, who is a born-again Christian
Wong’s counsel described the incident as ‘an isolated albeit extended episode of misconduct in an otherwise unblemished career of public service’
But it emerged whilst she was still registered at the surgery, Wong took her out to dinner, visited her at home and her work, gave her a laptop and suggested she enter into a business venture with him connected to complementary therapy treatments.
He also suggested she help him with a business conference, invited the woman to stay with him at his home and hosted overnight stays.
Wong was reported to the General Medical Council by NHS England following an investigation into his conduct. When quizzed he admitted meeting up with the woman but said he did not think she was vulnerable.
At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester, Wong – whose surgery is one of the 50 best top performing practises in the UK – was banned from treating patients for three months after he was found guilty of serious professional misconduct.
The pair’s friendship began in June 2016 when he had a consultation with her at his surgery over her anxiety and panic attacks.
In a statement Wong said Patient A had later texted him to tell me about her new job, and invited him to visit her.
She sent him a ‘thank you’ note earlier in the year and included her telephone number.
I had texted her so she had my number, and could let me know how she was getting on.
Wong said: ‘At the time, I thought that befriending a patient and sharing common interests was acceptable.
‘Now I realise that I was wrong and this was inappropriate and that I had breached professional boundaries.
‘As a result of that so many disastrous consequences arose, the patient was affected and unclear of boundaries, it subsequently led to patient suffering.’
He admitted making payments made to Patient A between October 2018 and March 2019 totalling £10,000 but said she requested payment which she considered she was ‘owed’ in relation to the business conference.
He claimed she told him if he did not pay her, she would claim that he had made sexual advances to her.
He said that even though he had never made any sexual advances, he was concerned that any such claim could be very damaging. He said he felt he was being ‘blackmailed’ and was ‘terrified’ of any claim of an inappropriate relationship being made.
Wong’s counsel Andrew Colman said: ‘This was an isolated albeit extended episode of misconduct in an otherwise unblemished career of public service.
‘It stems from an improper but not sexual or romantic relationship with a single and unconventional patient at a time when Dr Wong was himself at a low ebb.
‘Those exceptional and unique circumstances will never recur. He has learnt salutary lessons from this case.’
