A general practitioner from Eeklo, East Flanders, was disbarred from the medical profession for life and given a two-year suspended prison sentence for prescribing large quantities of painkillers and antidepressants to a dependent patient, who committed suicide five years ago. This is what the Ghent criminal court decided on Monday.
The case began on January 16, 2020, when a man filed a complaint against the doctor. “He said his sister committed suicide in her home on December 31, 2019. According to him, she had been addicted to alcohol and drugs for several years, with a worsening over the last eight years. She showed tendencies suicidal for several months The complainant pointed out the responsibility of the doctor, affirming that the latter continued to prescribe large quantities of medication to his sister, although he knew that she was dependent on them and required psychological help. professional,” the court said.
Other testimonies corroborated these accusations. “The victim would have mentioned several times that she easily obtained prescriptions from the doctor. According to these witnesses, the doctor would leave prescriptions or even pills in the patient’s mailbox, or even deliver them directly to her at home “The telephone data and witness statements also revealed that the bond between the doctor and the patient went beyond a normal relationship between a doctor and his patient.”
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