Abusive Doctor Loses License

A story from the BBC--a doctor who was caught abusing an autistic resident lost his right to practice. A disgusting situation, deserving of serious consequences.

NORFOLK, England -- A doctor who kicked a patient suffering from autism at a residential home in Cromer, Norfolk, has been struck off by the General Medical Council (GMC).

The GMC panel found Dr Robert Bartosik, 47, had kicked the male resident, in his 30s, in the rear during a row over a pair of rubber gloves in March 2007.

The GMC fitness to practise panel ruled his actions were "unacceptable".

Dr Bartosik, who was a support worker at the time, denied the allegation and claimed a witness was lying.

The GMC panel also found him guilty of deficient professional performance at various NHS trusts throughout the UK.

The panel agreed with a number of his employers that Dr Bartosik, who comes from Poland, had poor clinical skills and poor communication and language abilities.

The doctor was said to have ignored advice from colleagues when he tried to take the gloves from the kitchen of a bungalow at the Treehaven home for people with autism spectrum disorders.

The resident, who has Asperger's syndrome, began throwing items of cutlery at Dr Bartosik, who retaliated with the kick.

The panel noted: "As a professional person Dr Bartosik should have dealt with the situation in a different way and not have retaliated by kicking the patient.

"The panel is of the view that his actions were out with the boundaries of acceptability and that the public and profession would deem it to be unacceptable."

Autism Doctor Admits He Has Unconventional Therapy but Gets Results

Came across this on The Baltimore Sun's website by Dr. Mark Geier, who has a medical degree, a doctoral degree in genetics, is board certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics as a genetic counselor, is a fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics and is a fellow of the American College of Epidemiology. He is a former assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He is licensed to practice medicine in 11 states and lives in Silver Spring. His email is mgeier@comcast.net.

If there's a single statement that everyone who works in the field of autism can agree on, it's that there is so much that we still don't know.
Medical professionals can't even definitively say why more children are being diagnosed as having autism or similar developmental delays, much less agree on the best courses of treatment and therapy. Yet all of us who work with families of children with autism can't help but be affected by the emotions of desperate parents.
This month, I go before an administrative law judge to appeal a decision by the Maryland Board of Physicians to summarily suspend my medical license related to the treatment of children with autism. I wish that I was permitted to respond to the various allegations in detail, but the board's privacy restrictions make that impossible. (For the record, I have tried to waive my privacy rights and asked that my appeal be opened to the public, but have thus far been denied.)