A doctor has admitted to inappropriately messaging a vulnerable teen who he met in a hospital, and later went on to have a sexual relationship with.
Dr Cian Hughes, who lists himself as research scientist at Google on LinkedIn, began privately messaging the 13-year-old, who was a patient at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. Dr Hughes, who was a 23-year-old medical student at the time, had been present during surgery on the young patient and later approached her about a research project, a tribunal heard.
Dr Hughes used his private email address to email the girl copies of her X-rays, and this began a chain of communication that ultimately led to a sexual relationship between them when the girl was 17, the tribunal heard.
The General Medical Council (GMC) has brought a case against the doctor saying that he used his professional position to pursue an inappropriate relationship with the vulnerable patient. Dr Hughes has admitted that he sent inappropriate messages to Patient A, who is anonymised in the hearings, and admitted to engaging in sexual activity with her before her 18th birthday.
However, Dr Hughes denies that he was pursuing an improper emotional relationship with the girl before December 2013, when she was 16. Tribunal judges ruled on Wednesday that he did not use his position to pursue her, or that he was aware the patient had developed personal feelings for him, up to that point.
But at the tribunal hearing on Tuesday, Ms Collette Renton, for the GMC, told the tribunal that the doctor did “nothing to shut down” emails from the girl, which were initially about her school projects, in fact helping her with work by sending her links to articles.
Ms Renton said that Dr Hughes should have realised the patient had developed feelings for him when she sent him poetry before December 2013.
The tribunal heard that their conversations progressed to iMessage and Dr Hughes told the child: “You very much have the power to end my career if you want to”.
He also told the girl that they couldn’t consider pursuing a personal relationship “until you are 18”, despite then going on to have a sexual relationship with her when she was 17, the tribunal heard.
A view of the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children where Dr Hughes first met Patient A (PA)
Messages from November 2014 also revealed that Dr Hughes told the girl that a friend of his, who was also a doctor, believed their relationship was an “abuse of trust” and warned him he could be investigated by the GMC.
When asked by the tribunal judge, Mr Duncan Ritchie, whether he thought the relationship was allowed at the time, Dr Hughes said he had reassured himself that he wasn’t doing anything criminal.
In the UK, it is illegal for someone in a position of trust to have sexual contact with a child in their care before the age of 18. Dr Hughes acknowledged that “there was a concern that someone might say that there was a historic position of trust and authority”, but that he was not in a current position of trust when their relationship developed.
Dr Hughes told the tribunal he reassured himself that “for the criminal side of things it [him being in a current position of trust and a relationship developing] had to be at the same time.” He continued: “The example I came across at the time was a teacher and a student leaving school. That is why I convinced myself there wasn’t a problem from a criminal perspective, but I wasn’t a lawyer, I wasn’t an expert on those things.”
He added: “We decided not to have sex until she was 18, just in case really. I do appreciate that we did go on to do other sexual acts… in the run up to that time, but that wasn’t what was in the forefront of my mind.”
Lawyer Ms Rebecca Harris, acting for Dr Hughes, said that he “accepts now the importance of the medical student relationship” and “accepts that he failed to maintain professional boundaries”.
She added: “He admits that he sent the emails, and the majority were not part of patient A’s care, he’s admitted on reflection that sending those emails was inappropriate.”
But she said there was no suggestion that Dr Hughes targeted the girl.
She also told the tribunal that, while there had been a criminal investigation into his conduct, this had closed with no charges.
Ms Renton, for the GMC, argued that Dr Hughes had “opened the door” for inappropriate communication to start, and “he had begun enjoying the communication with patient A and didn’t want to shut it down”.
She added: “Had the doctor not held a professional position, they wouldn’t have met. If he hadn’t have provided his personal email address, it would not likely have happened.”
The tribunal continues with the judges now deciding whether Dr Hughes should face any sanctions, up to whether he should have his license removed.
The Independent has contacted Google for comment.