Perth ED doctor suspended for three years and fined for inappropriately touching woman
An emergency room doctor working at the Joondalup Health Campus has been suspended for three years and fined $175,000 after the Medical Board found he sexually touched an 18-year-old woman.
Dr Kim Mullaley was found by the State Administrative Court to have committed professional misconduct by touching the woman’s vulva “for no clinical reason” during a physical examination in July 2016.
The panel heard the woman was admitted to Hollywood Private Hospital and had been hospitalized multiple times for an eating disorder she had suffered for several years.
On July 12, 2016, the woman was transported by ambulance from Hollywood to Joondalup Health Campus, accompanied by police. He was at risk of harming himself and was transferred to Joondalup because it provided greater security, according to court documents.
He was declared an involuntary patient under the Mental Health Act and underwent a medical history assessment in the emergency room, but he refused a physical examination.
Despite this, the court ruled that Dr. He heard that Mullaley carried out a physical examination of the woman to determine whether she was medically fit and fit, and that he did so without a chaperone.
Admission to the hospital mental health unit.
During or after this physical examination, Dr Mullaley gave the woman what he described as “counseling”.
The woman returned to the same emergency room eight months later and Dr. He was examined once again by Mullaley. While in the room, he took two photographs and sent them to his mother, claiming that he had been examined by the same doctor who had previously had sexual contact.
The court heard his mother then entered the room and verbally abused the doctor, calling him a “pedophile” and “disgusting” and accusing him of being unfit to hold a hospital job.
Later, a different doctor took charge of the woman.
The Medical Chamber referred the matter to the court. After the hearing, where the woman had to testify for five hours, it was determined that the woman “acted in a way that constituted professional misconduct.”
“It was clear that it was very difficult for the complainant to testify,” the court documents stated.
“At times he appeared tense, anxious and upset. More often and even frequently he was upset and crying. On some occasions he was very distressed. At other times he was angry and frustrated, especially when it was suggested that his own evidence was false or inconsistent with other evidence, including his own.”
“By the end of her statement, she was inconsolably distressed and crying and repeatedly said she wasn’t lying.”
Last month his registration was officially suspended until September 2028 and he was ordered to pay $175,000 to the Medical Board for costs.
