• An osteopath ‘crossed professional boundaries’ by sending inappropriate messages to a patient and treating her at home.
• The Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner has now referred the matter to the Director of Proceedings to see if further action is warranted.
• A police complaint for indecent assault was filed in October 2023; the osteopath has left the country.

An osteopath who hugged a patient, sent her text messages with flower emojis, talked about sex and paid her a home visit crossed a professional line.

Despite the woman having been an active participant in the conversations, the power imbalance between health provider and patient meant the onus was on the osteopath to manage the situation, the Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner has found.

Vanessa Caldwell said in a decision released today that the nature of some of the messaging was “very concerning” and included comments of a sexual nature and about the woman’s body.

“In my view, the messages Mr B sent to Ms A clearly crossed a professional boundary,” Caldwell said in finding the osteopath had breached a section of the health consumer’s code.

Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Dr Vanessa Caldwell recommended that the clinic where the osteopath had worked develop a policy that outlined steps to be taken when a patient made a complaint about staff. Photo / James Gilberd Photography Ltd

She has alerted the Director of Proceedings to assess if further action is warranted.

The osteopath, who at the time had recently arrived in New Zealand, blamed a language barrier and his “poor turn of phrase” on the messaging being lost in translation, but he accepted his behaviour at times was inappropriate.

‘Flirtatious’ behaviour

The osteopath was initially employed on a work visa after he arrived in New Zealand in 2021 and was later an independent contractor for the clinic where the woman had been referred for chronic pain treatment after an injury.

She told the HDC the behaviour of the man treating her became flirtatious over time and that he extended appointment times, usually at the end of the day.

The solo mother often brought her child with her to the appointments.

The osteopath accepted he did extend appointment times for her, but he did the same for other patients.

He said the woman presented with multiple physical complaints and opened up to him about the “numerous strains” in her personal life.

He said that “naturally”, she warmed to him as he provided treatment to ease her pain and “offered a friendly ear and much-needed adult conversation”.

The woman said the osteopath had contacted her directly about a year after her first appointment. She said she received a text message from his personal phone advising her of her next appointment date in a message that contained flower emojis.

The HDC said it appeared the pair had by then become friends on social media.

More text messages followed, which were initially treatment related, but gradually they started to discuss their personal lives and topics of a sexual nature, the HDC said.

The woman said eventually, the longer treatments became conditional upon her giving something in return.

She accepted she did have feelings for him, but her “religious beliefs meant that she could not enter into an intimate relationship outside of marriage”.

Home visits

The woman claimed he then offered to come to her house and also invited her to his house outside of their scheduled appointments for free treatments.

She declined the offer, but continued to see him at the clinic until March 2023, when she accepted his offer of a home visit after she had messaged the clinic seeking an earlier appointment.

The treatment resulted in the first of two allegations he had indecently assaulted her.

He responded the house visit was “strictly professional” and that the woman returned to the clinic twice afterwards and told him she “liked his treatments”.

He later accepted the free treatment was unwise and unprofessional, particularly given her vulnerabilities.

The woman continued to attend appointments at the clinic and the pair continued to exchange text messages; including a question from the osteopath in June 2023 that was sexually explicit.

The woman continued to see him at the clinic until a few weeks later when she alleged he indecently assaulted her during an appointment.

Allegations denied

The HDC said he tried to justify his actions as osteopathic treatments and he denied he had touched her in the way she had alleged.

The woman declined to meet with him to discuss what had happened and she did not communicate with him again.

In October 2023, she filed a complaint with the police alleging indecent assault. The clinic where he worked and the Osteopathic Council were also advised of the allegations, which the osteopath “strongly denied”.

The osteopath was not interviewed by police because he had left New Zealand and had not returned, the HDC said.

Caldwell said in her recommendations that if he did come back to work as an osteopath, he would be subject to a professional competence assessment.

She also recommended that the clinic where he had worked develop a policy that outlined steps to be taken when a patient made a complaint about staff.

The clinic said during the inquiry that the osteopath was a trusted and highly regarded practitioner for many patients and there had been no other issues or complaints.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.