Psychiatrist Oakville was granted permission for sexual abuse of a patient

Warning: follows graphic content.

One autumn afternoon in 2010, while dr. Jane Gilbert drank with a patient in her home, asked if she wanted help with erection.

This will prove to be the beginning of the end of her career in psychiatry.

But even before having sex with patient A, whose identity is covered by a ban on publishing, in her home, in her cottage, in the office at Oakville Hospital and in the hotel room.

And even before patient A drove into a sex trade, a place he had never visited to try his penis in order to maintain an erection.

All this is stated in a statement on the undisputed facts that were brought on Wednesday to a college of doctors and surgeons in Ontario, where the disciplinary commission took Gilbert from her permission because she found out that she had sexually abused the patient and committed a professional violation.

Gilbert, who owns the Bear Bear Clinic in Oakville, was not present at the hearing because she sent two lawyers who filed a lawsuit that they did not win, which means that she agrees with the disciplinary committee that accepts the charges only for the purpose of hearing , but also did not acknowledge the guilt.

"Instead of helping this vulnerable patient in the most difficult times, she began a personal and then sexual relationship with him to meet her own needs at that time," said prosecutor Carolyn Silver to the disciplinary committee on Wednesday.

It all started in October 2009 when patient A saw Gilbert at a Psychiatric Consultation at the Oakville Hospital. (Gilbert left the clinic in 2011 to open his own clinic.)

Hospital A was hospitalized for anxiety in the past month, because after many years of intensive treatment he suffered from cancer due to mental health problems.

During a meeting with patient A in September 2010, Gilbert began to cry when he told the patient that her husband had left her.

"The patient A did not know what to do. Dr Gilbert gave her a hug in order to consolidate her, "says a statement. "He called Dr. Gilbert to his house, to have dinner with him and his wife, "which he accepted.

She then agreed with Patient A and his wife while he was still medication, and began to come to their house regularly at 7.30 and stay for a few hours while the patient's wife was at work, they said. On Friday night, he was drinking alcohol with him at home.

When in autumn 2010 she first started sexual contact with patient A at home, she told him that she wanted to "cultivate" such friendship, "according to a statement of facts.

Hospital A told her that erection was difficult due to cancer-related surgery, and initially refused to offer to help him.

"Would not you like to return to the right path and take it back (your wife)?" She asked, according to the statement, and asked her to see her penis.

"May I help you with your mouth?" She continued, the offer, which was also rejected. But in the end, they had a certain sexual contact on that day, and this would be the case again in the future.

"Dr. Gilbert has crossed the borders with patient A and has been dealing with serious, repeated sexual abuse for many years," said Silver.

Gilbert also completed more than 90 recipes for patient A, which was said to be for medicines, including antidepressants, narcotics, sedatives and erectile dysfunction tablets. She even gave her pill-free tablets for erectile dysfunction, which she said she had ordered from "third world countries".

Gilbert attempted to break the sexual relationship in 2013, but continued until April 2014.

From January 2018, Gilbert was forbidden to practice anyone except in the presence of a healthcare professional, pending the outcome of the Wednesday session, according to her profile on the College's website. In addition to losing the license, Gilbert must announce a $ 16,000 credit to cover patient care and pay $ 6,000 for Wednesday's hearing costs.

"Dr. Gilbert was the one I thought was a very good friend (my wife) and I," wrote Patient A in a statement on the victim's influence, which Silver read on the panel. "I felt that I was a doctor and that she was a hospital. I became a slave to her, I started working and better served with it than anyone else. I lost friends, my company and my wife.

"I would never trust a psychiatrist for the rest of my life."

In an unusual step, Gilbert's defense team – attorneys Trevor Fisher and Sonia Fabiani – opposed media requests for access to exhibits from a disciplinary hearing, including a statement of undeniable facts and a statement of the impact on patient A containing personal information about the patient A. College he agreed to the publication of the documents, provided that they were corrected due to a ban on publication.

"The requested documents were already read in the record in the presence of the person requesting access," the defense contended. "The publication of documents would not be in the public interest and is very damaging to Dr. Gilbert and patient A. "

The disciplinary group has stood on the side of the media and will publish the exhibited exhibits once the editions are completed.

"The Committee agrees that the request submitted by the media is for the purpose of the accuracy and completeness of reporting, which is important because transparency is accepted for public consideration," wrote the chairman of the John Langs Committee in the order. exhibits.

"The fact that parts of the documents have been entered in the record and are available in the transcript is not a reason for refusing access to these parts of the exhibits. The legislation makes it clear that the hearing is public, and the committee finds that the exhibits are accessible to the public without a valid reason. "

Jacques Gallant is a journalist from Toronto dealing with legal matters. Follow him on Twitter: @JacquesGallant