A tribunal has been told a north-east GP had a tryst in a cemetery with a vulnerable patient during their “cloak and dagger” relationship.
Dr Gordon Carter regularly saw the woman because of her complex mental health needs while he worked at Bydand Medical Group in Huntly.
They later exchanged phone numbers and he texted her commenting on their “chemistry”.
After discussions with a colleague, the 52-year-old – who is also the club doctor and a director of Huntly Football Club – agreed to keep the relationship strictly professional.
But it intensified when the woman also started working for the club.
Yesterday, he admitted having 15 professional consultations with the woman – identified only as Patient A – between July 2013 and February last year.
The father-of-one also admitted exchanging phone numbers and later text messages with her and engaging in a relationship with her between January and October last year.
However, although he admits having the emotional and sexual relationship, he disputes specifically “pursuing” it.
Dr Carter accepts he ought to have known Patient A was vulnerable.
At a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing in Manchester yesterday, the panel heard the he began taking the woman for lunch and country walks, and on one occasion suggested they meet at a cemetery.
Representing the General Medical Council (GMC), Bob Sastry said: “He suggested they meet at a cemetery as it was secluded. He picked her up in the car and he said ‘I can’t ask you to be cloak and dagger’ and kissed her and put his hand inside her bra.
“The GMC’s case here is that he pursued his sexual relationship with a vulnerable patient and at that time he ought to have known she was vulnerable.
“It goes without saying, he breached the fundamental tenets of good medical practice.”
The watchdog heard the pair started exchanging text messages after Patient A gave Dr Carter a Christmas card in December 2013, but did not receive one in return.
When she raised the matter with him during an appointment on Hogmanay, it emerged he had an old number for her which is why she never got his message of thanks.
In the early hours of New Year’s Day, she received a text from the doctor which said: “Happy New Year from your favourite doctor.”
Giving evidence yesterday, Patient A said: “There were texts that went back and forth.
“I asked what was going on and he said ‘are you talking about the chemistry?’, then I started to go into the whole ‘if I wasn’t your patient and you weren’t my doctor…’ and he was having a whisky and I said ‘if I wasn’t seeing you professionally, what would have happened?’.
“He said if he hadn’t had a drink he would have come over.
“It was surreal. I was really flattered to be honest.”
In early January 2014, Dr Carter spoke to another colleague and told Patient A they could not see each other socially or professionally because of boundaries set out in GMC guidelines.
But contact resumed when she began working at Huntly FC and they started meeting for lunch dates.
The woman added: “It was his idea to go for lunch and it was his idea to go out of Huntly so it was less likely people would see us together.
“We went for lunch then I said ‘am I going home or what?’.
“We ended up going to the coast and parked the car and were sat talking. He said he didn’t want to have to ask me to do cloak and dagger and it wasn’t fair on me.
“At that point I said ‘I understand, cloak and dagger’ and then out of nowhere he went from the driver’s side to the passenger’s side where I was and he kissed me.
“I was quite surprised, I wasn’t expecting it, and then it was a bit of a fumble in the car. He put his hand down my top.”
The pair slept together for the first time at Dr Carter’s home in Insch in late January or early February last year, even though he was still seeing her as a patient.
He did not see her in a professional capacity after that, but told her they would have to have a ‘cooling off period’ before going public.
The relationship later became common knowledge and they even dined with Dr Carter’s friends, but it ended in October.
But by that time the General Medical Council (GMC) was involved because of a complaint made by Patient A’s former psychologist.
When confronted, Dr Carter initially said the relationship began in May 2014 and he had not seen the woman professionally for three months, while accepting he made ‘an error of judgement’.
The hearing continues.