GP 'surprised woman showed attraction'

5:56pm Tuesday 8th July 2008

A Bradford GP accused of bringing his profession into disrepute by having a sexual relationship with a woman patient said today he was surprised she was attracted to him.

Dr Keith Fraser admitted the emotional and sexual relationship was inappropriate but he told a General Medical Council hearing that he was later manipulated out of tens of thousands of pounds.

Giving evidence at the Fitness to Practise hearing in Manchester, Dr Fraser said there was “no excuse” for his relationship with the patient, referred to as Miss A, who cannot be identified for legal reasons. The 53-year-old married father-of-six said the first encounter between them, a kiss in his surgery at the Highfield Medical Centre in Tong, Bradford, came as “a surprise”.

“I have been aware from a very young age that I am not God’s gift to womankind and I guess I was surprised by the attraction,” he told the hearing.

“I just did not expect anybody would want to be that attracted to me.”

Dr Fraser admitted having sex at Miss A’s home and in the surgery, while patients and staff could still have been in the building.

Elizabeth Nichols, counsel for the GMC, described his actions as wholly inappropriate. She said Miss A, who had been prescribed Prozac and other anti-depressants, was an emotionally vulnerable patient who had come to Dr Fraser for support.

Miss Nichols said he had been treating her for a number of years before their relationship changed into a sexual one.

Miss A was referred to a psychiatrist by Dr Fraser after driving her car into her garage door and running over a neighbour’s tree. The panel has heard evidence from Miss A that she was not interested in Dr Fraser sexually, nor for his money, but was very ill at the time.

Miss Nichols said Dr Fraser had sought sex from Miss A and the gifts and money he had given her were “sweeteners to keep her quiet” including cheques for £10,000, £9,000 and paying for £8,000 for her Volkswagen Bora.

But Dr Fraser said Miss A made the complaint in Februa-ry 2007 after he could no longer give her any money.

Dr Fraser said: “I believe in total Miss A received somewhere in the region of £37,000 to £38,000.” He said he confronted her about forging two cheques he had given her to gain an extra £800, which had effectively resulted in the end of the relationship.

He said: “She came in to see me and see if I would give her quite a large sum – tens of thousands of pounds and that would be all she’d need. I explained to her I didn’t have that amount of money and I wasn’t prepared to give her any more.

“She said something along the lines of blackmail is an ugly word but I have to consider whether to go down that road.”

Miss Nichols said Dr Fraser abused the trust his patient had in him and had had ample chance to end the relationship.

The hearing continues.

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