According to the hearing, a family doctor who has applied to become a gynecologist without permission may be liable to prosecution

The conduct of a family doctor who applied to practice as an gynecologist despite not being licensed was sufficiently serious that she could be guilty of a criminal offense, a fitness to practice committee has heard.

In her final submissions, Irish Medical Council (IMC) Counsel Elaine Finneran BL told the committee that they need to look into the allegation that Dr. Dorota Sanocka falsely portrayed herself as fundamental to patient protection.

dr Sanocka, who practices at our Sanocka Clinic, located at Clogheen Business Park, Co Cork, is the subject of an IMC practice fitness investigation after prescribing oral contraceptives to two high-risk elderly patients contrary to recommended medical practice.

The IMC’s Fitness to Practice Committee heard two doctors from Owenabue Medical Center in Carrigaline, Co Cork, where the two patients are usually treated, express concerns about Dr. Sanocka expressed.

dr Sanocka, a Polish national who was licensed as a doctor in 1987, has been licensed as a doctor in Ireland since 2012.

She ran a clinic in Woodfield, Station Road, Blarney, Co Cork until last year.

The investigation found that Dr. Sanocka on March 31, 2016 prescribed Yasmin, an oral contraceptive that contains both estrogen and progesterone, to a 47-year-old woman named Patient A, who had high blood pressure and was also a smoker.

She is also accused of prescribing Yasmin on November 23, 2015 to treat an ovarian cyst in a 60-year-old woman known as Patient B, who suffered from high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and a separate allegation of not referring the woman for further investigation of an ovarian mass.

The last allegation relates to Dr. Sanocka, who posted on her clinic’s website on or about March 22, 2017 that she was a specialist in gynecology and andrology, despite not being registered on the IMC Register of Specialist Practices.

Ms Finneran said the allegations also represented a failure to meet the standards of competence that would reasonably be expected of a qualified doctor.

Over seven days of evidence, Dr. Sanocka, representing herself, told the committee that she believed at all times that she was entitled to call herself a specialist gynecologist as she was qualified with a level 1 diploma from Poland.

Ms. Finneran said while Dr. Sanocka relied on the defense to be qualified in Poland, she had never been to the Chancellor in Ireland.

“It is clear from the facts that Dr. Sanocka advertised her practice through her website by referring to a specialty for which she was not on the specialty register,” she said.

“Therefore, their conduct is contrary to the Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics.

“As an indicator of the seriousness of this conduct, the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 provides that a doctor may be guilty of a criminal offense if he misrepresents himself.

“I am raising this point merely to illustrate the seriousness of what is being asserted in this context.”

“In my view it is such a fundamental matter for a doctor to pose as a specialist when he is not in the specialist department of the registrar that the committee can content itself with such statements.

“In this regard, the committee should consider the need to protect the public.

“This allegation gets to the heart of it.”

The committee previously heard from GP Eimear McCarthy, who said she was “surprised and concerned” at Patient A’s medical history that Dr. Sanocka was prescribed.

dr McCarthy said she advised Patient A to stop taking the drug because she is over 35 and a smoker, which puts her at increased risk of blood clots and higher blood pressure.

Patient A told the inquiry that Dr. Sanocka did not explain the risks of the treatment – a claim supported by Dr. Sanocka was denied.

The investigation was adjourned to a later date.