The patient met Somuah-Boateng after being admitted to Croydon University Hospital Pic: Geograph

A Croydon University Hospital doctor has been barred from practicing medicine for one year after telling his patient that having sex with him would cure her multiple sclerosis.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) found that 43-year-old started a sexual and emotional relationship with his patient, who is referred to as Patient A for legal reasons.

The tribunal, which concluded July 10, heard that Somuah-Boateng told the woman that intercourse with him would stimulate the muscles in her legs after she was diagnosed with MS, a condition that affects the central nervous system.

“Trust me I’m a doctor – it will help you to get your sensitivity back,” Somuah-Boateng told the patient in her 30s before having sex with her in hospital sleeping quarters. Patient A said she wanted to have intercourse with the doctor because she believed it would improve her health.

The six-month liaison began in July 2012 after Patient A was admitted to the A&E at Croydon University Hospital and diagnosed with MS. Somuah-Boateng, a urologist, gave her advice on managing the condition.

He claimed she would “regain the feelings in her vagina” and she would “feel normal and feel like a woman” if she had sex with him.

The tribunal heard that Somuah-Boateng told Patient A he would marry her and have a child with her, despite already being married with two daughters.

Patient A said: “At the time I thought the relationship was normal. He made me feel safe and he made me think that I couldn’t speak to family or friends about my condition and told me not to look thinks up on the Internet.”

She said she realised what Somuah-Boateng had told her was false after a subsequent medical appointment.

The MPTS also found that Somuah-Boateng failed to update the patient’s medical records, notify her GP about her condition, or issue her a prescription. He instead assured her that intercourse would improve her MS.

Addressing Samoah-Boateng, Nigel Westwood, the tribunal’s Chair said: “There is no doubt that you undermined the public’s trust in the medical profession by your actions with Patient A.

“Your misconduct is serious; you have breached boundaries between a doctor and a vulnerable patient and used her condition against her for your own ends.

“The tribunal determined that to take no action would be wholly inconsistent with the tribunal’s findings on impairment.

“Suspending your registration would protect patients, for the duration of the suspension, from any risk that you will repeat your misconduct; a risk that the tribunal has determined to be low.”

Somuah-Boateng offered an apology at the tribunal and said he had not worked as a doctor since 2013. He added that he had worked through his “personal issues” and is “now better able to manage stresses through counselling, mediation, mindful thinking and exercise”.

Westwood added that Samoah-Boateng had “made no excuses and accepted responsibility for his actions” and has asked for the “opportunity to redeem himself” to show he has “learned from past errors”.

Along with a 12-month ban, the MTPS has also prevented Samoah-Boateng from practicing during the standard 28-day appeal period by imposing an immediate order of suspension.

Samoah-Boateng stood trial for attempted rape and assault by penetration in 2015 at Croydon Crown Court but was cleared by a jury.