Judge dismissive of doctor’s claim
A DUNEDIN doctor who recorded a breathalcohol reading more than four times the legal limit says she drank only two glasses of wine at work and a couple at home.
‘‘Was she talking about two magnums of wine?’’ Judge Kevin Phillips asked.
‘‘That’s just a lie . . . You were drunk as drunk can be’’
Pamela Margaret Jackson (49) appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday having admitted the charge, her second such conviction.
On December 9, a member of the public watched the paediatrician ‘‘staggering’’ to a bin to dispose of alcohol containers in Portsmouth Dr.
They were so concerned, they followed the woman to her Waverley home and called police, who breathalysed her.
Jackson blew a reading of 1028mcg, fractionally more than when she was convicted in 2013.
The judge said he was confi dent from the material before him that she had been drinking while behind the wheel and had stopped to dispose of the evidence when she was spotted.
The court heard yesterday the Medical Council had imposed rigorous measures so the defendant could continue practising.
Counsel Werner van Harselaar said his client had completed a 30day residential rehab programme and was regularly attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
Jackson also had a machine at home which tested alcohol levels and took a photo of the user.
She used it three times a day during the week and four times at weekends to prove her sobriety, he said.
Medical Council sanctions would continue for another two years, the court heard.
‘‘She’s trying to do everything she possibly can,’’ Mr van Harselaar said.
Judge Phillips said the drinkdriving was just ‘‘the tip of the iceberg’’.
‘‘Before 2015 she had been brought to task about alcohol consumption in her practice,’’ he said.
Mr van Harselaar said the incidents investigated by the Medical Council included her having work drinks and then returning to her practice.
Another was an allegation she had alcohol on the premises, which he said was unfounded.
The judge believed it was ‘‘very surprising’’ Jackson was still allowed to work as a paediatrician.
While it was submitted the defendant was truly sorry for her actions, Judge Phillips did not agree.
‘‘She’s remorseful about the predicament she’s in,’’ he said.
‘‘I note you use all the right adjectives to describe your behaviour but I go back to say, you don’t appear to be honest about it.’’
Jackson said she had two wines after work on December 9 followed by two premixed vodkas after arriving home.
The judge said that would barely put her over the limit and dismissed the explanation as ‘‘patently untrue’’.
‘‘She was in danger of having a cardiac arrest at those levels and she was driving a motor vehicle and staggering as she got out of the car.’’
In sentencing, Judge Phillips said he had to treat her like any other drinkdriver who came before the court but he was shocked someone with her medical credentials could end up in such a position.
‘‘For a person who has had all the chances and opportunities in life, who clearly is a well recognised, well thought of paediatrician . . . and is standing in the dock in front of me is alarming and concerning.’’
The judge said Jackson minimised her offending and needed to admit the truth to herself as much as the court.
‘‘I don’t know whether you fully appreciate your alcoholism is there and will be with you until the day you die,’’ he said.
Jackson was sentenced to nine months’ supervision, four months’ community detention on a weekend curfew, 250 hours’ community work and disqualified from driving indefinitely.
The ban can only be lifted with the permission of the director of the NZ Transport Agency.