20 Nov 2015

Doctor facing charges cleared to practise

6:48 pm on 20 November 2015

A doctor, who worked in Hawke's Bay, is still able to practise though he faces five charges of stupefying and eight charges of indecently assaulting patients.

The man has name suppression and will appear in the Hastings District Court next week.

He faces eight charges of indecent assault on a male aged over 16 and five charges of disabling and stupefying, the court said in a statement.

The Medical Council of New Zealand said it took action when it first became aware of the allegations about the doctor's conduct.

It attempted to suspend him from practising but that was overturned by the district court, which allowed the doctor to work with conditions.

The council's chair Andrew Connolly told Checkpoint it would have preferred the man to remain suspended.

He said it was carefully monitoring the doctor, and he was confident the required conditions were stringent and were being maintained.

The doctor has not yet entered a plea to the charges.

The man's former employer in Hastings said he had resigned and no longer worked there.