Dr Gregory Peck disqualified for four years for crossing the line with a vulnerable patient

Dr Gregory Peck has apologised to the woman who sought treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at the Heights Medical Practice in New Lambton.

The woman, 42, started seeing Dr Peck at the clinic in June, 2017, in relation to a workers compensation claim for psychological injury which later resulted in her medical discharge from the NSW Police Force.

The Health Care Complaints Commission brought six official complaints against Dr Peck, all of which the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal found proven.

They included that he performed an inappropriate and inadequate skin check on the woman without taking steps to ensure her privacy in September 2017, as well as that he pursued and initiated a sexual relationship with her.

That began in May 2018 with a kiss during a consultation and which, on her evidence, lasted for eight months, during which time he continued to see her professionally.

He contacted her by phone and text message, making 266 calls to her as well as text messages which included sexual videos and images of himself. She said that he visited her at her home on at least 20 separate occasions, and she also went to his house, as well as meeting him at a hotel.

The woman said that between June 2018 and January 2019, Dr Peck told her she would lose her workers' compensation and become homeless if she ever disclosed their personal and sexual relationship.

The tribunal found it proven that Dr Peck minimised the nature and extent of their relationship and sought to draw her into "a conspiracy to report" his version of events, was was found to have compounded his misconduct.

In what a panel of four described as "a very sad case", the tribunal found that Dr Peck himself was "probably mentally unwell himself" at the time he breached doctor/patient boundaries. He will be entitled to have the decision reviewed at the end of the four-year prohibition.

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