A doctor who was suspended in Britain last month after a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Panel hearing has given a undertaking to the Irish Medical Council here not to provide any treatment to certain patient groups in Ireland, except under specific conditions, RTÉ News has confirmed.
Last month, Dr Cían Hughes was suspended for a year after a Medical Practitioners Tribunal hearing found he had engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a former patient he first met at Bristol Children's Hospital.
It ruled that his fitness to practice was impaired because of his misconduct.
The tribunal holds hearings after complaints to the General Medical Council (GMC) in the UK.
It heard that Dr Hughes was a 23-year-old fourth year medical student at the University of Bristol when he met the 13-year-old girl, Patient A, in 2011.
The tribunal heard that he started exchanging personal messages with the girl after her discharge in 2011.
In late 2014, the pair began exchanging messages which consisted of sexual acts and fantasies. A sexual relationship began when she was 17 in 2015.
The tribunal heard they spent the night together at Dr Hughes' flat on several occasions.
The relationship ended in 2016 when Dr Hughes came to Ireland to work as a medical researcher.
Dr Hughes qualified in medicine in 2012 from the University of Bristol. He registered with the Irish Medical Council in January 2015.
The tribunal heard that he started working for GoogleDeepMind Health in 2015 and currently works at Google in Ireland.
Some of the Google Health company executives gave testimonials to the hearing attesting to Dr Hughes' clinical competence, impeccable conduct and character.
Lawyers for Dr Hughes had told the tribunal there were no concerns about his behaviour towards patients or women, underscoring that the misconduct was an isolated incident.
Dr Hughes had also since completed professional boundaries and ethics training.
He had also demonstrated full cooperation with the proceedings, including early admissions and efforts to spare Patient A any further distress, which might have been caused if she were required to give evidence at the tribunal hearings.
The tribunal panel found there were no patient safety concerns in the case and that the risk of repetition was low.
It ruled that a review hearing should take place before the end of the 12 month suspension period.
The Irish Medical Council told RTÉ News that at this time, it "cannot provide cannot provide further detail in relation to the undertaking provided by Dr Hughes to the Medical Council, other than what is stated on the online register".
In June 2020, Patient A, who is now in her 20s, made a complaint to police in Britain but that investigation was discontinued and no charges were filed against Dr Hughes.
Patient A then raised the issue with the General Medical Council.
The tribunal detailed how Patient A had been affected by the relationship, that she now had a distrust of authority figures, medical professionals and medical appointments and difficulty communicating her wishes, plus a distrust of men outside of her family.
The tribunal inquiry was held partly in public and partly in private.
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service runs hearings to make independent decisions about whether doctors are to practice in the UK after a complaint to the General Medical Council.
