Doctor who asked patient to cry suspended

Dr Ogbonna put undue pressure on a vulnerable patient to re-record a video assessment, the tribunal heard

A doctor who pressured a grieving, vulnerable patient to cry so he could "demonstrate empathy" during an assessment has been suspended.

Dr Christopher Ogbonna worked as a GP trainee at Yaxley Group Practice in Peterborough. In July 2022 he asked a woman to record a consultation for an assessment, but first he tried to rehearse the answers and asked her to cry.

He also said that he had phoned her in tears and pressurised her to re-record the consultation.

A tribunal found he had committed misconduct and suspended him for three months.

Dr Ogbonna admitted to all the allegations.

The tribunal was told he did not submit the video as part of his assessments "because it was of too poor a standard".

Andrew Colman, representing Dr Ogbonna, said the doctor knew his actions had brought the profession into disrepute and a finding of impaired fitness to practise was necessary.

"Dr Ogbonna treating Patient A in the way that he repeatedly did, without consideration of her vulnerability, putting his own interests before hers and dishonestly intending to cheat in his GP training assessment cannot be allowed to pass without such a finding without fundamentally undermining public confidence in the profession and its regulation and bringing the profession into disrepute," the tribunal said in its report.

'Prioritised his needs'

Dr Ogbonna qualified as a GP "without cheating, and is practising safely" since the complaint was made, the tribunal heard.

It accepted that despite coaching the patient, Dr Ogbonna did not ask her to be untruthful.

"Dr Ogbonna had prioritised his needs over Patient A’s welfare," the tribunal found.

He said he had been feeling under pressure as he had been unsuccessful in an assessment for a second time.

"Dr Ogbonna explained being obsessed with repeating every detail of the consultation with Patient A in search for perfection," the report stated.

He also told the tribunal he had sought support and had been on courses to help with any future issues.