A Consultant psychiatrist who was suspended for two years by the British Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1997 because he was found guilty of medical misconduct is now practising at the Bantry General Hospital in Co Cork. He had been accused of an improper sexual relationship with one of his patients,
Dr Joseph B.A. Meagher (40), who is living in the area with his partner, appealed the decision of the British Columbia College to the Supreme Court in Vancouver, but his appeal was turned down and the decision upheld. News of the decision by the Supreme Court to reject the appeal was conveyed to him recently and he set in motion a further appeal to the Court of Appeal in British Columbia, the highest in that region of Canada.
In an interview with The Irish Times in Bantry, Dr Meagher confirmed that the British Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, which registered him to practise medicine, had convicted him of having sexual intercourse with a psychiatric patient suffering from depression and that he had been suspended for two years.
He also confirmed that part of his defence at the college's hearing and a subsequent court appeal was that the woman was having delusions.
Dr Meagher further confirmed that he had not informed Bantry General Hospital about his past but said he had made the Irish Medical Council fully aware of what had happened in Canada when he returned here.
He is a locum consultant at the 18-unit psychiatric unit of the Bantry Hospital. The Irish Medical Council, which includes a section known as the Fitness to Practise Committee, would not discuss individual cases but said that if matters concerning particular doctors were brought to its attention it would take the necessary steps to investigate them.
It is also understood that when a doctor who has not previously been registered with the council moves from another jurisdiction to this State, he or she is required to produce a certificate of good standing. However, in the case of a doctor such as Dr Meagher who was previously registered with the council, such a certificate may not be required.
The Medical Council has told The Irish Times that Dr Meagher is fully registered to practise medicine in the Republic. When asked if he did have sex with one of his patients, Dr Meagher replied: "Categorically no, absolutely not."
Dr Meagher said that if The Irish Times published details of what was alleged to have happened in Canada before his further appeal had been heard, his career would be ruined. "If you go ahead, and even I am successful in the appeal, I can never recover my reputation. The earlier decisions in Canada as far as I am concerned amounted to a travesty of justice.
"Doctors, particularly in my line of medicine, are always open to accusation and find it very hard to defend them. But I am hopeful that my appeal will be successful because I know I have done nothing wrong."
In 1993 he took a temporary position at Prince George Regional Hospital, Canada, living in the hospital residence. According to the Canadian court decision, it was during that time that a family physician referred a patient who suffered depression. Dr Meagher saw her on a Wednesday, on the following Monday and on the following Tuesday, and the sexual encounters began on the third visit, the court found.
He met her later that Tuesday at night in her car and escorted her to his office, and on a later meeting they met at her car in the hospital parking lot, took a lengthy drive then returned to his room in the residence and engaged in sexual intercourse, the court found.
The Bantry General Hospital is administered directly by the Southern Health Board, which confirmed yesterday that the allegations concerning Dr Meagher had been brought to its attention and that it was seeking clarification on the matter. In a statement to The Irish Times the board said: "When a locum consultant applies for a position with the Southern Health Board, the following procedures are followed.
"(1) the SHB contacts the applicant's most recent or current employer requesting a reference.
"(2) Documentary evidence of current registration with the Irish Medical Council is sought.
"(3) Documentary evidence of current registration with the medical defence organisation is sought.
"(4) A current work permit, if applicable, is sought. If the applicant has a valid licence to practise and a satisfactory reference is received, he/she is offered a position. This procedure was followed in this case," the statement said.
Senior staff at the Bantry Hospital were shocked upon hearing of the case. Yesterday Dr Meagher was on leave.