I just read a disturbing article about an osteopath caught fondling patients. After two complaints about the 49-year-old osteopath named Owen Bull, an undercover policewoman posed as a patient and caught him in the act. Bull went so far as to try and orally rape one of his patients.
Unfortunately, I imagine incidents like this happen often. I highlight it today to stress the importance of doing background checks on doctors or other professionals before hiring them. More importantly, report any misconduct so that the offender will get caught and cannot continue to assault patients or clients.
Luckily, the judge sentenced Bull to seven and a half years in jail.
What do you think?
Friday, September 21st 2007 at 11:11 am
It is easy to see how miscarriages of justice occur when people like yourself are prepared to believe what they read in the press but have no personal knowledge of the facts. It was the word of the policewoman against his. The filmed treatment did not show the ‘doctor’fondling anything at all, both the practitioner and the patient had their backs to the camera. You should know better than to believe what you read in the press. Do you think the police ever make things up to secure a conviction? This WAS a highly disturbing case, but not for the reasons you think. As for the many complaints, he did 5300 female patient treatments in 5 years. If you dont count the policewoman, who made it up, there were only 3 patients who thought there was something amiss in their treatment. All elderly, all mistaken. If you knew the true facts of this case you would have a very different blog going on here, since you claim to speak for the victims and abused, you should be speaking for Owen Bull.
Thursday, September 20th 2007 at 3:14 pm
Lina Trivedi, thanks for your comments.
Jill, the doctor had many complaints, not just from the elderly woman. He fondled an undercover policewoman on camera.
Thanks,
Scott
Thursday, September 20th 2007 at 6:14 am
This is nonsense. The DVD of the police woman shows no offence committed. I have seen it. The 77 yr old woman had glaucoma and cataracts (not reported in the press) and said she had seen a ‘penis’ in the osteopaths hand. She said she ‘felt sure’ he would have tried to put it in her mouth IF she had not opened her eyes. She did not say that he tried to, it was just her thought. No male practitioner is safe if it is possible for a man to be jailed for 6 years for the thoughts of an elderly and visually impaired patient. Do not believe what you have read in the press about this case, it is not what it seems at all. We will appeal.
Tuesday, September 11th 2007 at 3:06 am
There is a code of ethics that doctors and dentists are supposed to follow and I think with such complaints they can lose their license to practice? I am not sure, but it is stories like this that make me even more uncomfortable about going to the doctor …