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BERITA BAHASA INDONESIA
TOK PISIN
Topic:Doctors and Medical Professionals
Hemant Vanmali failed to maintain professional boundaries with a patient. (Pixabay: Bru-nO)
A South Australian GP has been suspended over an inappropriate relationship with a patient in her 80s.
Hemant Kumar Vanmali had an intimate relationship with the woman whom he had treated for more than five years.
Vanmali has been suspended for 10 months and must undergo mentoring when the suspension period ends.
A general practitioner has been reprimanded and suspended for 10 months for having an intimate relationship with a patient aged in her 80s.
South Australian doctor Hemant Kumar Vanmali began an “intimate personal relationship” with the “psychologically vulnerable, elderly and widowed” female patient “almost immediately” after her final appointment.
The Medical Board of Australia referred a complaint about the doctor to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on the “basis that he failed to maintain professional boundaries with a patient with whom he commenced an intimate relationship”.
In its ruling, published this month but delivered in September 2024, the tribunal found Vanmali admitted to what “constituted professional misconduct”.
The ruling noted he had more than 50 consultations with the patient over more than five years, and that he had “provided a range of care” including for numerous physical conditions and routine medical issues, as well as emotional support for the patient after her husband died.
The tribunal noted that the patient’s “vulnerability is apparent from the medical records, including the disclosure of highly personal matters”.
The South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal suspended the doctor’s registration for 10 months. (ABC News: Eugene Boisvert)
The ruling also noted that the professional relationship between Vanmali and the patient ended when the patient told the doctor she had developed “a personal interest in him” and that she “intended to move to another practice”.
“He advised her to consult with a different doctor … and directed that staff not book her appointments with him,” the ruling states.
The ruling states that the patient had “pursued” the doctor and made “personal communications” to him later the same day.
It states that the pair “exchanged numerous and frequent telephone calls and text messages” in the months that followed and exchanged gifts including Christmas presents.
He had also been to her home and had taken her to public places.
It notes the doctor had “made numerous attempts to curtail their relationship”, but that there were two instances of consensual sexual intimacy.
“We also note that much of Dr Vanmali’s association [with the patient] entailed assistance and support to her,” the ruling states.
“We are satisfied this was not motivated by any predatory interest in (the patient) and was encouraged and sought after by her.
“Nevertheless, such an intimate relationship, commenced immediately after the end of the treating relationship, with a former longstanding and highly-vulnerable patient, is not consistent with the requirements of Dr Vanmali’s professional circumstances.”
According to the judgment, an anonymous note was left at the practice in the months after the relationship began, “warning” him that the relationship was inappropriate and would be reported to Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
In the ruling, the tribunal notes that Vanmali, who was first registered as a medical professional in 1989, was “subject to and bound to comply” with the code of conduct for doctors in Australia, which requires medical practitioners to recognise “the influence they have on former patients and that a power imbalance could continue long after the professional relationship had ended”.
The tribunal adopted the agreed sanctions proposed by the board and doctor, including a reprimand and 10-month suspension.
It also imposed conditions including that he participate in a mentoring program for 10 months when his registration is restored.
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