Female osteopath is suspended after having affair with married affected person – whose spouse was additionally handled on the clinic
A female osteopath has been suspended after she was caught having an affair with a married patient, whose wife was also treated at the same clinic and alerted the clinic’s boss of their adultery.
Rachel Say treated her client for back pain for nine months from May 2024, during which time the couple grew feelings for each other.
The relationship came to the fore after the patient gave her a Valentine’s Day card hidden in a bag of American snacks last year, leaving Ms Say with ‘conflicting feelings’ for the man.
This prompted the osteopath at Derby Cottage Clinic in Newmarket, Suffolk, to stop treating the patient, urging him to see a different practitioner on February 14.
Ms Say got back in touch with the patient two days later asking for help with some electrical work in her home, prompting suspicions from the patient’s wife after he lied about where he was going.
He later admitted he was seeing the mother-of-one, who is American.
The adulterous couple spent the day together, which led to the patient confessing his feelings for Ms Say to his wife and revealed that they had kissed.
Despite his wife’s grief, he returned to Ms Say’s house the day after.
Rachel Say has been suspended from Derby Cottage Clinic in Newmarket, Suffolk, (pictured) after she was caught having an affair with a married patient
When the patient’s wife found out about the affair, she demanded a divorce and said she ‘told his mother’ – which left Ms Say confused as the patient ‘had consistently told [her] that [his wife] was aware and supportive’.
The furious wife then marched to the clinic, where she was also a patient, and told Ms Say’s boss.
Despite Ms Say linking her ‘ill-judged’ actions to ‘burn out’ and not going back to the States for five years, her boss suspended her and brought the case before a General Osteopath Council tribunal.
The tribunal in London found Ms Say had ‘ignored red flags’ because she wanted a sexual relationship with the patient and breached ‘sexual and professional boundaries’.
As a result, her licence to practice was suspended for three months by the medical council on January 29 over her ‘dishonest and sexually motivated’ behaviour.
The patient told the tribunal Ms Say ‘remained professional and never crossed any likes or let me’.
He added: ‘It was me who made her feel like my relationship was over with [my wife] and she believed me under false pretenses.’
Ms Say and her patient had been ‘sporadically’ texting during Christmas in 2024 after exchanging numbers.
The client brought ‘Goldfish’ crisps, an American snack, to an appointment after the festive break under the osteopath’s request.
Following the exchange, the patient texted Ms Say he hoped he had not ‘overstepped the mark’ and that he ‘valued their friendship’.
He added: ‘You are an amazing listener, mom, friend and someone I want to be around for sure. I’m just following my gut and if you don’t feel the same that is completely fine and I absolutely get it.’
Ms Say will be required to attend a review hearing at the end of the three-month period before she returns to practice.
