- Labrador doctor guilty of at least one sexual misconduct complaint
- Labrador MD admits to hugging patient, but denies wrongdoing
- ‘Do you like big ones or small ones?’: 2 more women testify in Labrador MD’s hearing
A Nigerian doctor based in Canada, Dr. Adekunle Williams-Owolabi, has been banned from medical practice for six months after making sexual comments to patients at his clinic in Labrador West.A disciplinary tribunal suspended him after he was found guilty of professional misconduct.
Adekunle Owolabi was found guilty on Monday of all four counts of professional misconduct after four female patients accused him of making sexual comments, and of inappropriate hugging and kissing.
guilty of all four professional misconduct complaints lodged against him and suspended his licence to practise for six months.
The decision was given Monday in St. John’s, at the professional misconduct hearing against Owolabi conducted by a tribunal panel established by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador.
At an earlier hearing, Labrador teacher Arlene Johnson testified that when she visited Owolabi for a pelvic exam he made comments that she believed were sexual.
She also said that after the test, he hugged her and whispered in her ear: “You have a beautiful c–t, does your husband tell you that?”
Another complainant testified that during a pelvic examination, Owolabi asked, “Do you like big ones or small ones?”
She said Owolabi made the comments while she was pregnant, undressed from the waist down, and had her feet in stirrups. There were two female secretaries in the room at the time, she said.
The tribunal said Owolabi’s inappropriate comments and touching of patients showed a lack of respect for the dignity and privacy of patients, which it determined constituted professional misconduct deserving sanction.
Owolabi was given a six-month suspension of his medical licence. The tribunal ordered that he have a chaperone present when he sees female patients for two years after returning to practise.
He must complete training on appropriate doctor-patient boundaries, and pay $75,000 in hearing costs related to the investigation and disciplinary process.
When he resumes practising, he must have a chaperone when seeing female patients for two years.
Owolabi has 30 days to appeal to the trial division of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.
His lawyer argued he should not be suspended for more than six months.
Paul Stokes told a disciplinary hearing Monday that Owolabi’s technical skills as a doctor are not in question. He asked the tribunal to put inappropriate comments, hugging and kissing in context of far more serious possible sexual offences.
“This is a good physician,” Stokes told the panel from the provincial College of Physicians and Surgeons, which confirmed the four convictions Monday.
Asked woman if she ‘liked big ones’ during Pap test
Four women accused Owolabi of misconduct ranging from sexual comments during a pelvic exam to inappropriate hugging and kissing.
Dr. Elizabeth Mate, who is leading the disciplinary tribunal, said Monday comments Owolabi made to one woman during a Pap test, asking if she “liked big ones or small ones,” were “cavalier” and “unprofessional.”
Lawyer Ruth Trask, representing the college, argued Monday for an eight-month suspension with a formal reprimand from the tribunal.
She said Owolabi should also complete training on doctor-patient boundaries and should have to have a chaperone for at least two years when seeing female patients in future. He has continued to practise in Labrador West with such a chaperone as the college process has played out.
Dr. Adekunle Williams Owolabi is shown in court in St. John’s Sept. 26, 2016. (Photo: CP)
Stokes had said an eight-month suspension would be “excessive,” and suggested instead three to six months. He also said there should be a definite end date to how long his client should require a chaperone to see female patients.
Owolabi had denied any wrongdoing during a six-day hearing earlier this year.
In each of the four separate complaints, Owolabi was found to have shown a lack of respect for his patients constituting professional misconduct.
Penalties range from a fine to suspension for the doctor, who graduated in 2000 as a general practitioner in Nigeria.
‘A pattern of behaviour’
A decision on sanctioning could take several weeks.
“This is taken very seriously,” Trask said, suggesting Owolabi has engaged in “a pattern of behaviour.”
Trask said there should also be signs in the waiting room so female patients know a chaperone is required.
Owolabi turned his face away from media cameras as he arrived at the hearing Monday, and showed little emotion as the findings were read.
At one point Owolabi sat with his forehead in his hand before Stokes spoke a few words to him.
Owolabi is said to have studied in Nigeria, but he was licenced to practice.
- With Huffpost/ CBC News
