Dr James McClymont was taken to the ACAT Civil and Administrative Tribunal by the Medical Board of Australia. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
A doctor was found to have improperly accessed a female colleague’s personal medical details then repeatedly lied to authorities about doing so.
Dr James Lachlan Morris McClymont was found to have committed professional misconduct, has been reprimanded and had conditions imposed on his registration by the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT).
In 2021, he began working for Canberra Health Services (CHS) as a junior medical officer, Presidential Member Juliet Lucy said.
He met a female doctor and asked to have a coffee with her, but she said while she would, she just wanted to be friends.
“If friends is all you want I can reluctantly agree hahah,” he replied.
A week after they met, he messaged her again saying, “I’m pretty attracted to you”.
Then after leaving an event later that year, Dr McClymont was assaulted, requiring a short stay in hospital.
He continued to message the woman, and when she told him she was uncomfortable with his messages and didn’t want him to contact her or to see him again, he said he respected her decision.
But he messaged her again months later, then in 2022, he used a computer to access her medical records held by the CHS 14 times, including pathology, diagnostic and laboratory results.
The CHS audited its computer system that year, revealing the access. It suspended Dr McClymont the next day, and he was told to stop contacting the woman.
When it sent him a “show cause” letter asking why his employment shouldn’t be terminated, he said he was resigning and denied accessing the woman’s records.
He claimed he had often seen staff members using someone else’s account on the CHS computer system to search for details on patients, friends and colleagues.
In 2023, Dr McClymont repeatedly denied accessing the woman’s records to the Medical Board of Australia and ACAT. However, when confronted by an Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) investigator in 2024, he said it was something he “may have done”.
The Medical Board took Dr McClymont to ACAT, and he ultimately admitted improperly accessing the woman’s records and making false statements about it.
“Dr McClymont admits that there was no clinical reason for him to access the records and that he did it due to a level of underlying anger and resentment in relation to the female doctor’s response to his assault and in terminating their friendship,” Presidential Member Lucy said.
She said there was no reasonable justification for him to access the woman’s records, and he breached the Code of Conduct by doing so, while his false statements were a significant breach of his professional obligations of candour and honesty.
The presidential member said his conduct was serious, but he admitted engaging in the behaviour, was remorseful, was undertaking educational courses and was seeking treatment.
She said the Medical Board had suspended his registration for 14 months, and it was not necessary to suspend it again.
Presidential Member Lucy, in her decision published this month, said the conditions imposed upon Dr McClymont included six months of mentoring by another health practitioner on ethical conduct and practice.
She also ordered him to pay the Medical Board of Australia’s legal costs.
Dr McClymont’s current registration details on AHPRA’s website say he is registered with conditions and has been reprimanded.
He no longer works for the CHS.
Lol sure Grandpa but noted lefty journal the Australian Financial Review would disagree with you on… View