I read with interest about the case of this religiously afflicted G.P. over in the UK, who is in trouble with the Medical Council after one of his patients accused him of harassment for talking to him about “his Christian beliefs”. I take it from the article that the guy has a bit of a history of doing that, and that the collegues in his practice are also god-botherers who think it is appropriate to proselytise to sick people.
Well, I hope he gets fined and his registration suspended.
He argues that he acted within official guidelines, having asked if he could talk about his Christian beliefs to the patient, who is of a different faith, and having ended the conversation as soon as he was asked to.
The conversation only turned to religious matters after they had fully explored the medical options, according to Dr Scott.
“He viewed his problem as purely medical issue and I said it might be more than that,” he said.
“It was a consensual discussion between two adults.”
This guy is obviously deluded, incompetent, and should not be allowed to practice medicine. I have no tolerance for this kind of bullshit whatsoever. I don’t talk to my patients about my lack of belief in the supernatural, because patients come to me with an expectation of having their medical problems addressed, not for me to abuse my position of power to convert them to some faith, or lack thereof. This applies not only to medicine, but all areas of society obviously, it’s just more of a concern in medicine and other professions where there is an inherent power imbalance, and where we deal with vulnerable and fragile people. I just wish the Christians would keep it in their pants, but they just seem incapable of doing so.
Dr Scott, a doctor for 28 years, works at the Bethesda Medical Centre in Margate, Kent. Its six partners are all Christians and state on the official NHS Choices website that they are likely to discuss spiritual matters with patients during consultations.
Dr Scott, who worships at St Paul’s Cliftonville, an Anglican church, said he has shared his faith with thousands of patients in the past because he believes that there is a spiritual element to healing. He had had “a handful of complaints” in the past, but they had all been resolved locally and none had escalated into matters for the regulator.
That guy’s dangerous, and his conduct is grossly unprofessional. Get him off the street. He also has the persecution complex down well :
“What’s happened to me is an injustice and I want to stand up for Christians who have been getting hammered in the workplace,” he said.
The Christian Legal Centre, which seeks to promote religious freedom, is handling Dr Scott’s case and has instructed Paul Diamond, the leading human rights lawyer.
Andrea Williams, the founder and director of the centre, called on the GMC to back the GP and not to bow to “political or emotional pressure”.
Someone get me a new irony meter, a human rights lawyer ? “Religious freedom” for Christians never just means freedom to practice their religion, it means freedom to proselytise and receive special treatment. Well, welcome to reality, because we’re not having this shit anymore.
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