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Doctor 'told woman to have exorcism'
A family planning doctor told a patient to get an exorcism during a consultation on contraception advice, a medical tribunal heard yesterday.
Dr Joyce Pratt, 44, was said to have told the young woman there was 'something moving in her stomach' and suggested she might be possessed by an evil spirit.
It was claimed the doctor gave the woman crosses and trinkets to ward off black magic and told her to visit a priest at London's Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral.
Dr Pratt is also alleged to have told the patient that her mother was a witch who wanted to kill her. The woman - known only as Mrs K - was said to have been left 'very shaken and intimidated' by the consultation.
Yesterday Dr Pratt, from Birmingham, was due to face a General Medical Council hearing accused of serious professional misconduct. She failed to appear and the panel were deciding whether to proceed in her absence.
The incident was said to have occurred when the patient - believed to be in her 20s - went to see Dr Pratt at Westside Contraceptive Clinic in Westminster. The surgery offers advice on family planning, contraception and sexual health.
The woman had complained of pain and bleeding and attended an appointment to get a contraceptive injection.
The GMC Fitness to Practise panel in Manchester will decide whether Dr Pratt's conduct was 'irresponsible, unprofessional, intimidatory to her patient and liable to bring the profession into disrepute'.
It is also alleged that Dr Pratt failed to cooperate with investigations by her employer and by the primary care trust.
The hearing continues.
A family planning doctor told a patient to get an exorcism during a consultation on contraception advice, a medical tribunal heard yesterday.
Dr Joyce Pratt, 44, was said to have told the young woman there was 'something moving in her stomach' and suggested she might be possessed by an evil spirit.
It was claimed the doctor gave the woman crosses and trinkets to ward off black magic and told her to visit a priest at London's Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral.
Dr Pratt is also alleged to have told the patient that her mother was a witch who wanted to kill her. The woman - known only as Mrs K - was said to have been left 'very shaken and intimidated' by the consultation.
Yesterday Dr Pratt, from Birmingham, was due to face a General Medical Council hearing accused of serious professional misconduct. She failed to appear and the panel were deciding whether to proceed in her absence.
The incident was said to have occurred when the patient - believed to be in her 20s - went to see Dr Pratt at Westside Contraceptive Clinic in Westminster. The surgery offers advice on family planning, contraception and sexual health.
The woman had complained of pain and bleeding and attended an appointment to get a contraceptive injection.
The GMC Fitness to Practise panel in Manchester will decide whether Dr Pratt's conduct was 'irresponsible, unprofessional, intimidatory to her patient and liable to bring the profession into disrepute'.
It is also alleged that Dr Pratt failed to cooperate with investigations by her employer and by the primary care trust.
The hearing continues.
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