The gastroenterologist who stole the morphine wants to get back to work

“You're having a hard time with that, aren't you?” The specialist doctor (black shirt, black pants, blond ponytail) bows his head. A woman in her thirties, with a warm voice that radiates some reassurance. Therefore, the professional ban imposed by the Healthcare Inspectorate comes as a shock. If the Central Medical Disciplinary Board follows this “inspection recommendation”, the gastroenterologist will lose her job and her future. After that, her name will be permanently deleted from the professional register and she will not be able to work as a doctor again.

It is a matter of success or failure today in the Hague Court. The accused doctor has Crohn's disease. She had brain drain after complications and the pain team prescribed morphine. It got out of control as she started using more and more on her own initiative “because of the hellish headaches.” Over the course of five years, ampoules of morphine and fentanyl were stolen seven times from five different employers. The disciplinary court in Zwolle ruled last summer that the gastroenterologist “currently lacks the competence” to practice her profession. She is addicted to painkillers.

The highest disciplinary judge is faced with the question: Is this a hopeless case? Does this history make a medical professional unsuitable as a doctor? Yes, the chief inspector insists. The gastroenterologist is listed on the examination site with his name and place of residence. Her addiction problem is “chronic and uncontrollable” and poses a “risk to patient safety.” Every time the doctor promised the inspector that he would get better, new facts and setbacks emerged. In the event of such a “violation of trust”, according to the stubborn inspector, there is “no other option” but an “irrevocable” professional ban.

The specialist's lawyer finds such a lifetime measure “disproportionate.”

Her lawyer believes this lifelong measure is “disproportionate.” She objects: Can't a doctor work under strict conditions in a place where painkillers are not available? The client has never previously endangered a patient by using opioids. She never withheld medicine from patients for her own benefit. No patient complained about it during the examination. “Her judgment as a physician has not been shown to have been impaired at any time. She has always been a good, diligent and committed physician.”

This addiction the head doctor wants to know, what about it? “Are you in severe pain?”

The doctor says she started visiting the pain clinic in 2017. At one point, she was sent home with 150 10-milligram ampoules for a week. With slumped shoulders: “They said I could take more injections until the pain goes away. And then you think: Strange amounts.” The gastroenterologist straightens her back. “She underwent treatment successfully.” The file confirms she has not used morphine since January 2023. “I understand the pain Better. I have had an attack and fought it off three times without morphine. I know now that it will take a day or two, and then you will be able to get the pain under control. Then you become a better version of yourself.”

Addiction trap

But how realistic is it that, as one fellow professional from the disciplinary board asks, you won't be using morphine anymore? Can a doctor avoid the dilemma of addiction?

The specialist visits every two weeks Anonymous doctors. She has a urine test at her GP every two weeks, voluntarily – and will continue to do so if the council wants her to do so. “I can only stay in recovery if I take good care of myself. My environment — I have a great partner, a beautiful family, and great colleagues — appreciates that, too. She recently broke her elbow and had to go to the emergency clinic. They gave them a prescription for oxycodone, another painkiller that causes Addiction. With a smile: “The prescription is back.” Emotional: “I will fight any fire for my patients. “I hope you will turn this measure into a temporary suspension.”

After six weeks, the gastroenterologist can breathe a sigh of relief. The highest disciplinary court considers the professional ban “inappropriate.” “It is desirable and necessary for the doctor to be able to prove – without risk to patients – the extent of continuity of abstinence.” The medical professional is allowed to return to work under strict conditions. She is required to perform a urine test every two weeks, and she is not permitted to prescribe painkillers or work in a place where they are available. She must prove to the inspectorate for three years that she adheres to the conditions very carefully.

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