A family doctor has been suspended from practice for five months after she fabricated patient appointments to ensure she could leave work on time to pick up her children from school.
Falsified Records to Avoid Being Late
Dr Helen Eisenhauer, a 43-year-old part-time GP and mother-of-two, admitted to misconduct after creating fake face-to-face appointments in the booking system at Stenhouse Medical Centre in Arnold, Nottinghamshire. The medic, who worked part-time, feared that last-minute consultations added by colleagues would make her late for her parental duties.
To guarantee her timely departure, she entered two non-existent appointments for patients with whom she had already conducted telephone consultations earlier the same day. Furthermore, she was found to have deliberately blocked slots in her late-afternoon diary to prevent being booked to see other patients.
Discovery and Investigation
The deception was uncovered when a partner at the medical practice noticed irregularities in her appointment records. Dr Eisenhauer was subsequently called to a meeting to explain the anomalies.
Initially, she denied any dishonesty. However, she later referred herself to the General Medical Council (GMC) and ultimately confessed to the charges brought before a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) hearing.
Tribunal Findings and Sanction
In evidence, Dr Eisenhauer stated she had been under significant strain due to sleep deprivation from her parenting responsibilities. She told the tribunal: "The incident occurred at a time of particular stress for me when I was having to balance the demands of my young family with busy professional commitments. I fully accept, however, that this does not excuse my dishonesty."
Despite her mitigation, the tribunal ruled her actions were serious. Katie Jones, for the GMC, said Dr Eisenhauer had shown a "reckless disregard for patient safety" and undermined systems designed to protect the public.
MPTS chairman Neil Dalton stated that by making false records, she had put her own interests before those of her patients and betrayed the trust of her colleagues. Her initial dishonesty during the internal investigation was noted as an aggravating factor.
The tribunal suspended her licence to practise medicine for five months, citing the need to uphold professional standards and public confidence in the medical profession.
