Doctor’s pills for girlfriend ‘caused’ skin cancer in sun
A HEART surgeon gave his girlfriend so many sedatives she fell asleep in strong sunshine and developed skin cancer, it was claimed yesterday.
NHS consultant cardiologist David Hildick-Smith, 55, allegedly prescribed the woman sleeping pills on top of medication from her own GP.
He was said to have prescribed tablets on handwritten pieces of paper – allegedly recommending a course of 84 pills at once – and to have advised the woman to go to different pharmacies to avoid suspicion.
The woman, also a doctor, was his partner at the time but was never his patient, a medical tribunal heard.
The mother of one was diagnosed with a melanoma after she claimed she dozed off for hours during the day in California, where she made business trips from her Surrey home.
The Manchester tribunal, where Dr Hildick-Smith faces charges of misconduct and dishonesty, was told she took sedatives to cope with jet lag after her long flights to the US.
Burns
The ex-partner, identified as Ms A, claimed she would wake up with severe blisters and burned skin after sleeping in the hot sun in San Diego.
She told the hearing: “When I went to see a dermatologist he said to me that I had obviously had extensive burns to my back when I had been sedated for a number of years.
“I had taken large doses, therefore I had fallen asleep in the sun for many hours. I had blisters and burning and it was the possible that was the cause of melanoma – that’s what the doctor told me.”
Ms A insisted her only aim was to seek justice but was accused of being vindictive by Dr Hildick-Smith’s lawyer Steven Brassington. Mr Brassington put it to her: “You want to stop Dr Hildick-Smith practising medicine and don’t think he should be allowed to. You will do anything and say anything, won’t you?”
Ms A replied: “Accusing me of being a liar is very offensive and isn’t the truth.”
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service heard the surgeon had prescribed the drugs diazepam, zolpidem and zopiclone to Ms A.
Chloe Fairley, counsel for the General Medical Council, said they were prescribed in different ways including on pieces of A4 paper and pads from a private hospital.
Cambridge-educated Dr Hildick-Smith is considered one of the country’s leading heart surgeons and has had 250 medical papers published.
The surgeon, who works at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, faces being stuck off if found guilty. The hearing continues.