Drug-taking GP impregnated affected person, despatched her £900 then suggested abortion technique
Dr Eren Battaloglu, a GP in Birmingham, was immediately banned from practising after a GMC misconduct hearing found he posed a ‘high risk’ to the public following an inappropriate relationship with a patient
Dr Eren Battaloglu was struck off(Image: Getty Images)
A doctor has been barred from practising after confessing to frequently taking drugs and engaging in an improper relationship with a patient. Dr Eren Battaloglu, who had served as a GP in Birmingh at the Soho Health Centre and the Kirpal Medical Centre for six years, was deemed a ‘high risk’ to the public at a General Medical Council hearing.
He was prohibited from practising immediately following the hearing which concluded on April 23, during which it was also revealed that he had advised a patient, with whom he was sexually involved, on how she could terminate his baby. He asserted that he had encountered Ms A on an escort site and did not recognise her.
However, she informed the tribunal it was an ‘online dating site’ or a ‘hook up site’ and alleged that he had told her he recognised her from the surgery the first time they met and engaged in sexual activity, reports Birmingham Live.
She stated that he had given her approximately £300 three times after they had sex, but she didn’t understand why. Their sexual relationship then continued.
He confessed to sending her WhatsApp messages of a ‘highly sexual nature’, asked her to purchase illegal drugs for him, visited her home to consume alcohol, and sent her money despite knowing she was vulnerable due to serious drug addiction and significant mental health problems.
He claimed the money was transferred after repeated requests and threats to his family.
He also admitted that Ms A had informed him she was pregnant with his child and he had offered to refer her to hospital for an abortion, which was inappropriate given their personal relationship.
When Ms A informed him she had been advised it was too late to terminate the pregnancy, he confessed to discussing methods to induce termination with her, including taking two medications.
The tribunal heard that Battaloglu claimed he was now clean and had taken significant steps to address his drug use.
Mr Ivill, representing Battaloglu, conceded his conduct had fallen below the expected standard and was serious, but suggested these events could be seen as an ‘isolated episode’ in an otherwise spotless career’.
However, the tribunal concluded that Battaloglu posed a current and ongoing threat to the health, safety and wellbeing of the public.
The tribunal found that while he had admitted most of the allegations and apologised for his behaviour, his focus on the impact of his actions were ‘on himself and his family’ and his ‘primary focus was on the negative impact of these events on him and that he gave little indication that he has effectively reflected on or fully appreciates the impact on Ms A.’
The tribunal determined Battaloglu’s fitness to practise was impaired due to misconduct and the high level of risk he posed to public protection was ‘so significant that erasure was the only appropriate sanction’.
The panel requested his name be removed from the medical register and his registration be immediately suspended at a General Medical Council misconduct hearing concluding on April 23.
Battaloglu qualified as a doctor in 2013, finishing his GP training at hospitals and GP Practices throughout Birmingham before serving for two years as a locum in Sandwell and City Hospital Accident and Emergency Department.
