UK Tribunal Suspends Nigerian Doctor for Six Months Over Sexual Misconduct with Patient

A UK tribunal has suspended Dr. Ewere Onyekpe, a Nigerian-born doctor, for an additional six months following accusations of having a sexual relationship with a patient in a hospital setting.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal of the General Medical Council (MPT of the GMC) initially suspended Dr. Onyekpe’s medical license for six months in 2023. The tribunal found him guilty of misconduct after an investigative tribunal heard that Dr. Onyekpe had engaged in consensual sexual intercourse with a patient in the hospital’s toilet cubicle and at her home.

The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) appealed against the MPT’s initial decision, arguing that the patient’s vulnerability had not been fully considered. After reviewing the case in February, the tribunal determined to extend Dr. Onyekpe’s suspension for another six months, reducing the original 12-month suspension to account for time already served.

The tribunal detailed the circumstances of the case, noting that Dr. Onyekpe examined the patient on June 5, 2020, in the Accident and Emergency department at Whittington Hospital in London. During the examination, Dr. Onyekpe diagnosed the patient with sciatica and prescribed painkillers. Before leaving the hospital, the patient gave Dr. Onyekpe her phone number.

The pair exchanged personal and sexual messages over the next few days, and on June 10, they engaged in sexual intercourse in a hospital toilet cubicle. The next day, Dr. Onyekpe visited the patient’s home and had consensual sex with her. The relationship continued until July 24, 2020, when the pair stopped communicating.

Dr. Onyekpe was arrested on suspicion of rape on August 3, 2020, but was released without charge. The tribunal eventually learned about the case and the details of Dr. Onyekpe’s conduct.

The tribunal emphasized the seriousness of the case and the need to protect the reputation of the medical profession. While the tribunal considered erasure from the medical register as a potential sanction, it ultimately determined a six-month suspension was appropriate. Dr. Onyekpe’s suspension will take effect 28 days after he receives notification of the decision unless he appeals.

Dr. Onyekpe, who trained at Kharkiv State Medical University in Ukraine and earned a Master’s in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has been practicing medicine in the UK since 2010. He previously worked at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and North Middlesex Hospital before his tenure at Whittington Hospital, where the incident occurred.