Alamy Lovers meetings: A psychiatrist is accused of carrying on an affair with a vulnerable woman in his care, including having sex on his consulting room floor. Picture posed by models
A psychiatrist had sex with a patient on the floor of his consulting room while the ladies from the local Womens' Institute were outside, it has been claimed.
Dr Stephen Lomax is accused of plying the 'vulnerable' married mother of two with drink and telling her the stars said 'she was on the verge of something new.'
The patient, who can only be named as Ms A, told a hearing at the General Medical Council their consultations became 'lovers' meetings' after they had sex for the first time.
'On one of these he had sex with me in his office,' she said. 'It might have happened other times, quite probably, but that's the only one I remember because there were lots of people outside.
'It was a group from the WI who had come to be shown around the hospital to see how things worked.'
It is also alleged that after confessing his infidelity to his wife, Dr Lomax told Ms A he had destroyed her medical records to cover his tracks. But he continued to see the woman and moved her into a 'grubby flat' after she left her family home, it was said. Ms A was referred to Dr Lomax in January 1988, said Sarah Plaschkes QC, for the GMC.
She was suffering from low self-esteem, after being diagnosed with a thyroid condition and undergoing abdominal operations and a hysterectomy. She and Dr Lomax had a series of twice-weekly hour-long consultations at the Castel Hospital in Castel, Guernsey, between February and May.
'She was clearly a vulnerable patient and Dr Lomax knew, or ought to have known, this,' said Ms Plaschkes.
'But after the first few appointments, he began to refer to the sexual tension between them and Ms A was both shocked and very confused by this issue.'
Dr Lomax kissed her after giving her a lift home following one session and the pair drank Greek retsina wine and kissed again during a consultation on his birthday, she added. A week later, on April 21, Dr Lomax is said to have invited her to his house while his wife was away.
'The sexual relationship started that day,' said Ms Plaschkes.
'At the next appointment, on April 25, Dr Lomax told Ms A that he loved her.
'She believed at the time that she loved him to, but because of the relationship she felt wrong and confused.
'Dr Lomax continued to treat Ms A and during one of their appointments the pair had sex in the consulting room - the very place that Ms A had gone to seek help with her problems.'
He confessed to his wife on May 27, and then told Ms A he had destroyed her medical notes,' added Ms Plaschkes.
'Whether it was true or not is immaterial,' she said.
'Ms A believed the position to be that there were no notes or medical records.
'With the passage of time it is not possible to say whether these records have been deliberately destroyed or not.'
Giving evidence, Ms A said Dr Lomax had flirted with her and told her dirty jokes during their initial consultations.
'He was relaxed and matey,' she told the panel.
'He would tell me jokes and one had a four-letter word in it. I had never been to a doctor and had him use a four-letter word during a consultation before.
'It was almost like being with a friend, like having a chat.' She added: 'He did astrological readings and he told me that I was just on the edge of something new in my life.
'I felt excited, like something wonderful was going to happen, but I didn't know what.
'He made music tapes for me of different songs that he wanted me to hear.
'The first one he made he told me not to tell my husband.
'Playing those songs and imaging his message to me in them made me feel really special.'
Describing the day she had visited his house, she said: 'I remember feeling quite anxious. I knew what he wanted but I just sat there frozen. He gave me a glass of wine and that relaxed me.
'Then he took me upstairs to his daughter's bedroom.
'Afterwards I remember feeling really, really ashamed. I couldn't look at him.'
In June 1988, the pair moved in together, the panel was told. 'He got us a flat, some grubby flat in the town centre,' said Ms A. Dr Lomax returned to his wife after around five months, but struck up a relationship with Ms A again soon after, the panel was told.
The pair lived together in Cambridgeshire and then in South Wales, where Dr Lomax was a medical director at a private hospital, for around 15 years before separating, it was said.
Dr Lomax, who has since retired and now lives in France, is not attending the hearing in central London. He admits he had a relationship with Ms A, but denies it began while she was a patient.
He further denies saying he had destroyed her medical records. If found guilty of misconduct he could be kicked out of the profession. The hearing continues.
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