A DOCTOR was left 'scared' to go to work and her life made "horrendous" after she reported her colleague for inappropriate prescribing of strong sedatives to patients, a hearing has been told.
Dr Elizabeth Watson reported Dr David Syme, her partner at the Killin Medical Practice in Killin, by Loch Tay in Perthshire, over concerns about his prescribing.
Earlier this month, Dr Syme admitted to a General Medical Council (GMC) panel a string of prescribing failures but denied he had been aggressive towards Dr Watson.
However, giving evidence at a Medical Practitioners' Tribunal Service (MTPS) fitness-to-practice hearing, Dr Watson claimed Dr Syme was aggressive towards her after she reported him, storming into her room and shouting "you must really, really hate me" while waving his hands in her face.
But Dr Syme claimed he said "you must be very angry with me" and did not wave his hands in her face.
The MTPS panel found Dr Syme had not been aggressive towards her but had made derogatory remarks about her while discussing the case with fellow staff members.
In her evidence, Dr Watson said she had been scared to go into work after the incident.
She said: "It was just awful. I basically just went into myself, locked myself in my room most of the time.
"Life was horrendous because he was bitching about me to staff all of the time."
Dr Syme denied talking about Dr Watson in a derogatory fashion but another doctor at the practice said she heard him discussing the case with staff several times.
She said he mainly spoke about being "irritated with Dr Watson, claiming she had made unsubstantiated allegations to the GMC that you were taking benzodiazepines".
MTPS panel chairwoman Katherine Whitehill said: "The panel considers that discussing matters relating to the GMC investigation openly and in front of staff in this way was inappropriate.
"It has determined that your reference to Dr Watson and apportioning blame for the GMC investigation to her during these conversations was derogatory."
Dr Syme admitted a series of prescribing failures, mainly relating to the prescription of sedative diazepam, the generic term for Valium.
He prescribed the drug to some patients for up to eight years and in some cases failed to consider other treatments.
In one case he admitted giving a patient strong painkillers dihydrocodeine and morphine sulphate along with diazepam for more than three years, which an expert witness said fell "seriously below" the standard of reasonably competent GP.
Dr Syme said he acted out of a "misplaced sense of kindness" towards the woman.
He also admitted giving the painkiller ibuprofen to a patient suffering from chronic kidney disease who was on the blood-thinning drug Warfarin, knowing this can cause a significant risk of internal bleeding.
He said the patient's case was "effectively terminal" and he was trying to improve her comfort.
He further admitted failing to pay attention to concerns repeatedly raised by other doctors at the practice about his prescribing.
The panel is now considering whether Dr Syme's fitness to practice is impaired. He could face restrictions on his practice, suspension, or, if it is found his actions amount to serious misconduct, being struck off the register.
Panel chairwoman Mrs Whitehill said: "You are a man of good character and you have not been the subject of any previous adverse findings by a regulatory body."
Dr Syme, who qualified as a doctor at Edinburgh University in 1978, is currently under temporary GMC restrictions that prevent him from prescribing opiate drugs, benzodiazepines or hypnotics.
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