Doctor jailed for sexual assault

Emily Plihal
Express staff

Recently a former gynecologist was jailed for sexually assaulting a number of his patients.

He was sentenced three-years in prison for assaulting four of his patients. My question is, is a three-year sentence really sufficient?

Patients trust their doctors, not only to be confidential in their treatment, but also to provide treatment in a professional manner.

In terms of a gynecological exam, patients don’t expect to be taken advantage of as they have their yearly check up.

It shocks me that this doctor got away with this kind of “treatment” of his patients for so long.

Dr. Carl Nqumayo was convicted of four counts of sexual assault and acquitted of two charges. The six charges date back between the years of 2003 and 2005.

Nqumayo is originally from Nigeria and received his medical training in Zambia. He was also trained for two years in Calgary after moving to Canada.

He will have to register as a sex offender when released from prison, but the real question is does he need some psychological treatment too?

If he was able to do this to people who were trusting him to check their health, who says he won’t offend again?

He obviously needs to have help given to him. I doubt his intentions when becoming a doctor was to sexually offend his patients.

Women are already very uncomfortable when they have to go for their yearly examination, how will these women who were assaulted ever be able to trust another doctor?

To me this situation is very unfortunate for the patients. Doctors are generally very caring and knowledgeable people, who intend to provide care to their greatest ability.

They provide service to others without expecting much in return. Their dedication to our health care system is outstanding, and the number of hours spent dealing with sick patients is an amazing devotion of time.

Nqumayo has lost his license to practice medicine in Canada. After one patient came forward with their encounter with the doctor, many others came out of the woodworks with similar stories of sexual assault.

This case is far from the first of a doctor, dentist or other health care provider sexually assaulting their patients. However; the individuals who do this are not a typical health care provider.

My best analysis of this situation, and others like it, is that they’ve gone into practice because of their fascination with the human body.

I’ve talked to many doctors before, who have said being a physician is like any other occupation. If you’ve had to see one body they all begin to look the same, and the shock or embarrassment of seeing a nude human disappears.

They had explained that just like writing, or being a salesman, or any other job, being a doctor becomes second nature. You perfect your skills, become very professional in demeanor, and acknowledge the oath you’ve taken to provide a service to your greatest abilities.

In my opinion, there are people throughout the world who do not uphold their human ethics. There are some who feel they are able to do whatever they want to a person who is relying on them.

This doctor from Fort McMurray is no different. His judgement obviously flew out the door the first time he touched a patient inappropriately.

I would assume he has permanently lost his medical license in Canada, and I praise the judicial system for making an outstanding decision.

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