A DOCTOR who telephoned and text messaged a woman patient in an effort to set her up with his friend has been found guilty of professional misconduct.
In a reserved ruling issued yesterday, a medical council fitness-to-practise committee found several allegations levelled against Dr Eltayeb Elkhabir (40) had been proven and amounted to professional misconduct.
However, the committee, chaired by Brendan Broderick, said it saw this “as falling within the lower end of the spectrum”.
They found his behaviour towards Sinéad Doyle, from Walkinstown, Dublin, was “unwelcome, inappropriate and distressing” and reflected naivety, poor judgment, and deficient insight into the ethical code of conduct for doctors. However, the committee was not of the view that his motivation was “cynical or consciously exploitative”.
The committee recommended conditions be attached to the retention of his name on the medical register. He must be mentored by a senior doctor, acceptable to the Medical Council, for a period of two years, with a view to deepening his insight into the doctor-patient relationship.
Last month, when the case against him was heard, it emerged Dr Elkhabir had been sanctioned by the medical council in 2008 after an incident at St Columcille’s Hospital in Loughlinstown, Dublin, after he told a patient with epilepsy it could be seen as “a sign of the devil in you”, and that epilepsy could be caused by sexual activity. He gave that patient his mobile number, and said she could call if she wanted to know more about Islam. He was ordered to complete a course in ethics.
In the latest case it was alleged he asked Ms Doyle whether she was single when he admitted her to the private Hermitage Medical Clinic in Dublin on May 27th last year. She was awaiting results when Dr Elkhabir, a Sudanese national, rang her on the evening of June 5th, a Saturday. He said he was just checking up on her but by then he no longer worked at the Hermitage, where he had been a locum. He told her she should never drink alcohol.
He telephoned on June 10th and said she should stay off alcohol forever, which the committee found to be inappropriate and unwarranted. He also said he had a friend whom he would like her to meet. “He was trying to sell me this marriage thing,” she said. He told her it was difficult for Muslim men to meet Irish women as they did not go to pubs. He asked her whether he could pass her number to his friend.
When she got a further call from him on June 15th she complained to the Garda, the hospital and the Medical Council. After she complained to the Medical Council and Dr Elkhabir was notified, he texted her, saying he was sorry if he had inconvenienced her.
The fitness-to-practise committee said he had manifested very poor judgment in initiating this contact after she lodged her complaint. “The committee deems that his behaviour has fallen seriously short of the conduct that would be expected among doctors in such circumstances.”