The woman in her 20s does not want to come forward herself, but via her lawyer she would like to tell her story. She is one of the victims in the case against the accused municipal superintendent. In the autumn of 2021, she notified via her new GP about what she allegedly experienced as abuse from her former GP over several years. One year later, the GP has been suspended from his position and reported to the police by the National Health Inspectorate for abusing his position to obtain sexual intercourse. Now the GP is under police investigation, and there have been dozens of complaints from women who have been his patients. – The case has been pending for a whole year, and for her it is an enormous relief that many other patients are coming forward. She realizes that she is not alone. That’s what Camilla Hagen says. She is the woman’s assistance lawyer and refers to conversations she has had with her client, and what has come to light in previous documents. The municipal superintendent denies criminal liability. Lawyer Camilla Hagen believes her clients have been exposed to gross abuse from their GP over several years. Photo: AAV Trustee in her life It was the experience during the last consultation with her old GP that the woman opened up about what happened at the doctor’s office to relatives. – She has experienced having a GP who has been a trusted person in her life. A doctor that she quite naturally consults when she needs health care. She has always thought that the gynecological examinations that have been carried out are based on a medical rationale, claims Hagen. This last time she went to the doctor with a cold and at the same time wanted to examine a lump in one breast. This ended in investigations that the woman must have experienced as very offensive. – You go for a cold and a cold, and end up with a full gynecological examination and subsequent examination of the breasts. Examined the breasts from behind She was completely naked during the examination, according to the lawyer. The doctor examined both breasts from behind, long and thoroughly. – The explanation she got from the doctor along the way was that he had to hold on for a while to see if anything came out of them, says Hagen. She is also said to have been asked to bend over and has explained that she had to stand on all fours on a bench and lift her legs up and down because the doctor had to look at something. – She says that he feels the genitals quite carefully, says Hagen. It was only when the woman got a new GP that she understood that the examinations her previous GP had carried out were not necessary. – There has been an enormous stigma to believe that this is how it should be. She really realized that this was wrong when she told about it at home, and she got a new female GP. She has gone a whole winter thinking it was just her. – Always call a spade a spade After the woman’s complaint, the State Administrator instituted supervisory proceedings against the GP in December last year. The points they would look into are the allegations of sexualized language and behaviour, and abusive conduct of consultation. In his statement from February this year, the doctor writes, according to documents news has obtained access to, that he has always “called a spade a spade” and that this is well known among the population of the municipality. He feels that this communication is generally appreciated by the patients, and points out that it is possible to change GP if “you find this form of communication difficult or inappropriate”. He further says that the patient wanted an examination of, among other things, the abdomen and breasts, and denies that he patted the patient on the bottom. Explains stress with corona He acknowledges that the patient was completely naked, and explains this by saying that it was a special day in the municipality with a corona outbreak. The stress and the infection situation may have affected his concentration. The doctor also explains that the woman was moved from a “GU chair to a bench for relaxation in side lying”. The state administrator writes in his assessment that it is unnecessary for the patient to be completely naked during the entire examination. The state administrator is also clear that standing on all fours naked on a bench must be perceived as offensive and betraying. Examining breasts and nipples from behind in a standing position is not in line with good practice, given that it actually happened this way, according to the State Administrator’s assessment. news has tried to get further comments from the targeted municipal superintendent. According to his lawyer Erlend Hjulstad Nilsen, they cannot give further comments. The reason is that information relating to patients is confidential. In addition, several documents have been classified as a result of the police’s ongoing investigation. Gross abuse Camilla Hagen also represents another client who wants to report the municipal superintendent. The woman has children and has been subjected to countless gynecological examinations which she has found unpleasant. – I believe there are descriptions of gross abuse against my clients. It is now up to the police to investigate the case, says Hagen. The woman in her 20s is affected by the case and is currently having challenges managing to stay at work. She has always thought that something was wrong with her, according to the lawyer. – The fact that there have been reports against the doctor since 2007, without any consequences, has made a deep impression on her. Extensive case So far, between ten and 15 women have been questioned by the police. Ten are waiting. – There are a lot of people involved, and it takes a lot of resources to track everything. When we first have such a case, it is important that everyone who has something to contribute lets us know, so that we get as accurate a picture as possible. That’s what investigation manager Ellen Mari Burheim in Trøndelag police district says. – There may be incidents that are contrary to good medical practice, but which do not amount to criminal charges. We have to map that out. We want the people to talk to us and let us make that assessment. Burheim does not think they will have finished all the interviews until the end of October. The police have so far questioned between ten and fifteen women who have been offended in the case and, according to the head of the investigation, Ellen Mari Burheim, have received detailed explanations. Photo: Tariq Alisubh / news
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Woman in her 20s glad she dared to notify the municipal superintendent – now she knows she was not alone – news Trøndelag
