Bukola Adebayo with agency report
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.
Owolabi’s licence was suspended and he
was ordered to pay the sum of $75,000 towards the costs of holding the
hearing where he was found guilty of professional misconduct towards
patients.
A panel established by the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador in St. Johns made
the decision to suspend the doctor’s licence on Monday.
According to CBC News, a
teacher, Arlene Johnson, who visited Owolabi’s clinic, testified that he
made some sexual comments during a pelvic examination.
Johnson said that after the test, he had
hugged her and whispered in her ear, “You have a beautiful clit, does
your husband tell you that?”
Another complainant also testified that Owolabi made inappropriate comments while examining her pelvic.
She said Owolabi asked, “Do you like big ones or small ones?”
She noted that he made the comments when
she was pregnant, undressed from the waist down and her feet in
stirrups, while two female secretaries in the room watched.
The panel said that Owolabi’s
inappropriate comments and touching of patients showed a lack of respect
for their dignity and privacy. Therefore, it instructed him to have a
chaperone present whenever he sees female patients in the next two years
and after returning to medical practice.
Owolabi, who admitted to hugging one of
the patients, however denied making such comments towards the woman. His
lawyer, Paul Stokes, said they were disappointed in the panel for
making the decision.
Although the doctor has 30 days to
appeal the panel’s decision in court, Stokes said that he and his client
had not decided if they would appeal the decision.
The panel established a pattern of
behaviour after four former patients of Owolabi lodged the charges of
professional misconduct. They testified before the tribunal that his
actions ranged from making sexual comments to inappropriate touching and
kissing at his clinic.
Owolabi is said to have studied in Nigeria, but he was licensed to practice.
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