A trainee GP has been suspended after forcing a patient to cry over her late husband so he could film it and show it to his bosses.
Dr Christopher Ogbonna was trying to show he had “empathy” when he pushed the woman to tears shortly after she lost her husband to cancer.
At a disciplinary hearing, he was told the video was part of his training and that he expected it to show a sympathetic approach to patients.
Dr Ogbonna then called the woman back to try to get her to re-record parts of the consultation that she wanted to improve.
The trainee has been suspended for three months after a panel ruled he was guilty of misconduct for “prioritising his needs” over the welfare of the grieving patient.
Dr Christopher Ogbonna was working as a GP at Yaxley Group Practice, Cambs. in 2022 when he made a woman cry over her dead husband (pictured)
The Medical Practitioners’ Tribunal heard how Dr Ogbonna had been working as a trainee GP at Yaxley Group Practice, Peterborough, Cambs. in June 2022 when the woman made an appointment.
He contacted her to ask if he could evaluate her, as it would be useful for her training.
The court heard how Dr Ogbonna told her what questions he planned to ask her and what she should answer before practising the conversation.
He knew she was medically vulnerable due to her husband’s death, but he continued to ask her to cry when they talked about his death.
The GP also asked her to pretend to take off her clothes for an examination, when in fact she had them on.
Dr Ogbonna then called her again and asked her to re-record the consultation due to the omissions and mistakes she had made during the recording.
The panel heard that when she refused, he began to cry.
As part of the training as a general practitioner, the trainee doctor had to present twelve recordings of individual patients in different categories.
At that time, Dr. Ogbonna had not done any.
In a written statement, he told the panel he wanted to repeat the consultation with the woman because he wanted to refine it.
The GP explained that he knew he had not been successful in the recorded consultation assessments a second time and had put pressure on himself to do well.
The patient lodged a complaint about his conduct, which was then referred to the General Medical Council in March 2023.
Speaking on behalf of Dr Ogbonna, Mr Andrew Colman said the doctor was “deeply affected by the stress of not being able to qualify as a GP” after “years of dedicated service”.
Mr Colman argued that pressure caused the GP to act strangely.
The court said that while there was no evidence that Dr Ogbonna asked or coached the patient to give false answers, he had nevertheless “been persistent in his conduct and had asked (the patient) to assist him with these recordings several times”.
She said: ‘(The patient) was vulnerable, not only because of the presentation of her health problem, but also because she had suffered losses in her family – she had lost her husband (…) before this meeting with Dr Ogbonna and stated that she was still “quite sensitive” about that.
‘Dr Ogbonna had heard that (the patient) had lost her husband to cancer, however, he asked her to replay that fact several times in the recordings made and asked her to cry in order to demonstrate empathy on her part.
‘Dr Ogbonna had prioritised his own needs over the patient’s well-being. The Court also noted the patient’s statement that she had been made to feel uncomfortable and that Dr Ogbonna had exerted undue pressure on her.’
Dr Ogbonna had been working as a GP at Nene Valley and Hodgson Medical Practice, Peterborough since April 2023.
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