A Cape Town doctor who sexually assaulted a colleague after giving her a date-rape drug has been given a five-year suspended sentence by the Health Professions Council of SA and four-year ban by the health department from working in a state facility, writes MedicalBrief.
The doctor may, however, work privately. In terms of the HPCSA sanction, if he offends again within the next five years, he will be struck from the roll.
TimesSelect reports that Dr Srinivasan Govender, 51, had injected a nurse with ketamine before having sex with her at the Khayelitsha Community Health Centre in 2016. He had worked in the public sector for 30 years before being fired after this from Wesfleur Hospital in Atlantis, and charged by the HPCSA with unprofessional conduct and bringing the profession into disrepute.
Only six month after being fired, Govender was working as a locum doctor at Karl Bremer Hospital in Bellville, the Sunday Times revealed.
At the HPCSA hearing, Govender pleaded guilty and said the “error in professional judgement” had taken a toll on his health, marriage and reputation.
“I haven’t been in full-time employment since October 2018. I barely survived with private GP locums. We had to sell our home of 25 years and move into a smaller house.” He said he had been on antidepressants since March.
Testifying on her husband’s behalf, TimesSelect reports, Sandra Govender said her husband was a dedicated doctor who had spurned private practice even when she begged him to branch into it. Dr Janet Giddy, who worked with Govender, described him as a “dedicated and caring family physician” who was pushed to extremes of stress by hostile managers who imposed rigid targets.
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