The Northern Rivers Times Newspaper Edition 101

Doctor guilty of misconduct

TIM HOWARD

A doctor at a Grafton health clinic began an inappropriate relationship with a mentally ill patient, including plying him with liquor and marijuana and asking him to sign prescription forms not meant for him. The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission took Dr Dheyaa Khadim Jouda, 48, before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal on April 20. The commission alleged that between February 9, 2017 and June 7, 2019 while working at the Grafton GP Super Clinic, Dr Jouda breached professional boundaries with a patient, by exchanging calls and text messages, inviting the patient to his home for dinner, consuming alcohol and marijuana with the patient at the patient’s home and

loaning the patient money. It was also alleged that, Dr Jouda engaged in improper or unethical conduct by:

• asking the patient if he could use his name to complete a prescription not meant for him;

• falsely documenting a prescription;

• falsely documenting a medical consultation with the patient; and,

• making a false representation to the commission during the investigation of the matter. On May 31, the Tribunal found the complaint proven. The Tribunal found that Dr Jouda was guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct. The Tribunal allowed the hearing to proceed without Dr Jouda being in the country at the time. It was happy he was adequately represented. In the background

facts to the case the Tribunal heard Dr Jouda first met the man known only as Patient A on October 9, 2017. Patient A had been diagnosed with schizophrenia prior to that consultation. He told Dr Jouda he had been “taking Olanzapine or other relevant medication for my schizophrenia”. He said that across a number of consultations Dr Jouda said they should get together for “a drink somewhere”. Patient A said went along with the suggestion to be “agreeable” and said he felt sorry for Dr Jouda, because he was from a foreign country (Afghanistan) and had few friends in Australia. The doctor also acquired Patient A’s phone number and contacted him via text messages several times a week. He said he trusted the doctor as an authority figure and did not see harm in

him having his phone number. At times the text messaging from the doctor to Patient A was very frequent, with evidence on March 11 2018 he sent 33 messages and on March 13, he sent 49 messages. A medical expert, Dr Mullins, whose evidence to the Tribunal was not contested, said records showed there was no medical need for the frequency of the messaging. He said, although the content of the messages was not available, the frequency allied to the power imbalance of the doctor/patient relationship had the potential to be harmful to the patient. Patient A said he had dinners and drank expensive scotch whisky at the doctor’s home on a number of occasions. Dr Jouda also discussed his sexuality and told Patient A he was gay.

Some time in 2018 the doctor asked Patient A if he smoked marijuana and when he said yes, supplied some and the pair smoked two joints. In his statement Patient A said: “I trusted that as my doctor he would not harm me”. In 2019, during a consultation, Dr Jouda presented Patient A with a blank prescription and asked him to sign it. Patient A gave evidence there were other prescriptions he signed where he was not at the places at the times written on the prescription forms. Dr Mullins gave evidence that the drugs on the prescription forms were anti-HIV drugs, which would never be prescribed for Patient A’s conditions. Dr Jouda told the Tribunal he felt remorse for the way he had abused his relationship with Patient A and offered this as a reason for his behaviour. “The reason why I

needed this medicine then is that I had relations with another person, and there is no sexual health clinic in Grafton which could prescribe in a confidential way. I did not feel I could ask any other local doctor. It seemed the easiest way to obtain the medication privately, and I knew it was wrong, that is why when I moved to Brisbane, I started seeing a sexual health doctor for regular check ups and prophylactic treatment. I should always have done this but I did not and I do not have any excuse for using my patient in that way and I am sorry and apologise to him.” The Tribunal found five of six complaints made against Dr Jouda proved. A stage 2 hearing where protective orders will be made has been order at a date to be appointed by the registrar.