Doctor 'failed to report underage sex case'

Published on Tuesday 5 May 2009 22:35

A PAEDIATRICIAN has been suspended over claims he failed to alert police about a "child welfare" case involving a 13-year-old girl admitted to hospital with a sexually transmitted disease.

Dr Willem van IJperen, 58, a consultant at Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin, was suspended from his post after a member of staff lodged a complaint with the local health authority.

It is understood the Dutch-born doctor is alleged to have failed to report the incident as an underage sex case to either Grampian Police or Moray Council's social work department, causing a four-day delay in any handover of information.

His suspension has highlighted the ethical dilemmas facing doctors over patient confidentiality. And it comes just three months after the publication of a damning report on child protection services in the Moray area by a government watchdog which warned there were "significant delays" in doctors reporting cases of possible child abuse because paediatricians at Dr Gray's had failed to follow established child protection procedures.

Detective Chief Inspector Malcolm Stewart, of Grampian Police, said last night: "We are investigating a child welfare issue involving a young girl. As the investigation is ongoing, we can't comment."

A hospital source said the girl was treated by Dr Van IJperen after she was admitted to the hospital on Friday, 25 April, but her case was not reported to authorities until the next Tuesday. The source claimed Dr van IJperen told his staff that he had not reported the case because his patient said she had consented to sex with her boyfriend.

A spokeswoman for NHS Grampian said: "We can confirm that a doctor has been suspended from Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin. For reasons of confidentiality and to avoid prejudicing the investigation, we are unable to comment at this time."

Dr van IJperen, who lives near Elgin, refused to discuss the allegations. He said: "I do not have to say anything to the Press about my work. My interest is to protect my patients."

Dr Van IJperen is an honorary senior clinical lecturer and teaches medical ethics to undergraduates and paediatrics to medical students at Aberdeen University.

COMMENTARY

THE key thing is that young people are entitled to the same confidentiality as anyone else, writes Dr Alan Stanton. If an adult turns up at the doctor with a sexually transmitted infection having contracted it by consensual sex, then it is nobody's business but theirs. I wouldn't expect the police and social services, wives, or anybody else to be told unless it was necessary for their own protection. And that would be with consent.

In cases involving children, you have to balance child protection, making sure that children are not exploited, and providing a good confidential service for young people in respect of their sexual health. The limit of confidentiality occurs when a young person is being exploited or abused. If a 13-year-old comes to me and says, "I am having sex with my stepfather, I didn't want to but please don't tell anybody", then I have to say, "Sorry, you have told me now". I have to disclose that. I cannot be party to that kind of exploitation.

In a case where a girl has sex with someone who is over 16, it would depend on the boyfriend. If he was her teacher, or someone who was in a position of power over her, then that may well represent exploitation.

If she is 15 and three-quarters and the boyfriend is 17 and she is saying it's consensual sex, there is no way I would be saying that the boy should be reported to the police, social services or anybody else.

The same would apply to a teenage girl and boy of the same age. The only time when age becomes really critical is when sexual intercourse happens before the age of 13.

&#149 Dr Alan Stanton is a consultant paediatrician