Court turns down doctor's bid for reinstatement after sexual misconduct ruling

FORMER Gqeberha endocrinologist Dr Gregory Hough has failed in his bid to have the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) suspend his name from being removed from the medical register, pending the outcome of ongoing litigation.

He was found guilty of sexual misconduct involving former patients.

Hough turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, where he is challenging both his convictions and the sanction imposed on him. He was initially charged with seven counts of unprofessional conduct or conduct. All seven counts related to incidents that occurred in 2013 and 2014.

The complaints were laid in 2020 and related to allegations of various forms of sexual assault. There were three complainants, all of whom were female patients of Hough. He was found guilty in June this year on two of the charges and acquitted on the others due to technical reasons.

He has been unable to practice medicine since July after the HPCSA removed his name from the register. Hough, has meanwhile instituted an appeal and a review application relating to the findings against him. All these legal proceedings are still ongoing.

He however now asked the court to suspend his name from being removed from the medical register, pending the outcome of the ongoing litigation. Hough told the court that he will suffer irreparable harm if he can no longer practice as a specialist and earn an income. He said that he has good prospects to succeed with his pending review and appeal.

The court remarked that it was not its role to make a finding on the applicant’s prospects of success in the pending appeal or review.

The review application is based on the alleged bias of the members of the Professional Conduct Committee, while the pending appeal concerns the handling of evidence, specifically how it was accepted, interpreted, and applied by the Committee.

The court noted that the applicant was legally represented during his previous hearings, and he was able to cross-examine witnesses and make submissions before his conviction and the imposition of the sanction.

“The applicant was charged and found guilty of sexual misconduct, not of some intrinsic aspect of medical negligence,” the court said.

It added that the charges relate to sexual misconduct towards female patients and are not based on any medical negligence.

“South Africa is plagued by the sexual exploitation of women and children; as such, the courts almost daily express themselves on this aspect,” the court noted in turning down the application.

Cape Times