Amorous advances by patients can include receiving unwanted letters and gifts and, more commonly now, text or social media messages. In more extreme cases, patients have turned up at a doctor's work or home. This has the potential to develop into stalking and harassment, with some patients creating a fantasy affair to which the doctor is completely oblivious.

Some patients can be very distressed if they feel their advances are being ignored or rejected, and their behaviour can become aggressive or vindictive. The MDU has seen cases of doctors referred to the GMC by patients alleging a fabricated sexual relationship, or even complaints to the police of sexual assault.

Stalking and harassment

Harassment became a criminal offence in 1997 with the introduction of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, and stalking became a specific offence when this was amended by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. The government is proposing a 'Stalking Protection Order' aimed at protecting victims of stalking by strangers, who are not protected in the same way as victims of stalking by ex-partners. If introduced, this could offer some welcome protection for doctors who are the victim of stalking.

MDU advice

It's important to maintain professional boundaries in your relationships with patients. If you have reason to believe that a patient wants a personal relationship with you, tell them as soon as possible that your relationship with them must remain on a professional footing. Make it clear to them that their behaviour is inappropriate and must stop.

If that fails and your professional relationship with the patient has broken down, you may need to transfer the care of the patient to a colleague. You should explain the reason to the patient, and it's also important to keep a log of all contacts and to get support from your colleagues and the MDU.

The MDU's advice on dealing with amorous patients also includes:

contact the MDU for advice as soon as you become aware of a potential difficulty with a patient
ensure you inform your line manager of the situation
keep a log of all inappropriate contacts from the patient
if you continue to care for the patient, it is advisable to use a chaperone for all consultations
accepting gifts from patients can be misconstrued, so consider very carefully whether it may be better to politely refuse a gift
don't use personal email addresses or mobile numbers for work purposes, review your social media privacy settings, and withhold your number if you have to use a personal phone to contact a patient
consider reporting the patient to the police if you feel threatened or in danger.

Avoiding unwanted attention from patients

Dr Beverley Ward

Avoiding unwanted attention from patients