Staff at a Kalgoorlie women's health care centre say a doctor's relevant criminal record should be disclosed to patients following the revelation a convicted sex offender has been working as an area GP for the past four years.
Dr Juviraj Arulanandarajah moved from Victoria to Kalgoorlie, where he now works at the Boulder Medical and Occupational Health Centre, in 2017 following his conviction.
The GP pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his family friend while she was sleeping over with her children at his and his wife's house in 2015.
Dr Arulanandarajah was estimated to have consumed 17 drinks before the sexual assault when the group was out celebrating his 35th birthday.
The Magistrates' Court of Victoria sentenced him to an 18-month community corrections order, which included 100 hours of community work and rehabilitation orders for alcohol abuse.
In October 2017, The Medical Board of Australia referred the incident to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, seeking to cancel his registration as a medical practitioner and disqualify him from re-applying for three years.
The tribunal found the assault amounted to unprofessional misconduct and noted the significant toll it had on the victim including her developing post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, separating from her husband, and becoming isolated from her friends.
It found there was no suggestion the GP presented a risk to his patients or colleagues and imposed a suspension of his registration for three months from February this year.
Centre 'hesitant' to refer patients
Goldfields Women's Health Care Centre CEO Gloria Moyle said she would be hesitant to refer her patients, many of whom were survivors of sexual assault, to a GP with a sexual assault conviction.
"Most of our clientele have had some form of complex trauma or some assault in the past, and that would make it quite difficult, particularly in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, where we have a huge shortage of GPs and female GPs," she said.
According to Dr Arulanandarajah's biography page on the Boulder Medical and Occupational Health Centre's website he has a special interest in sexual health, among other areas.
Ms Moyle said, given the often vulnerable nature of sexual health treatment, patients should be made aware if their doctor had sexual assault convictions.
"Any form of conviction, even if it's just financial, you are ineligible for services and to be practising," she said.
"So I suggest that this should be something that is known so that it's absolutely about choice and about the community choosing whether or not they wish to see this particular GP."
Ms Moyle said she hoped the Goldfields community would be able to move forward.
"I think this is going to be quite a shocking story for a while. I do feel for our colleagues over there at Boulder Medical and I hope they continue the best they can because we do refer to Boulder Medical as they do to us," she said.
The Boulder Medical and Occupational Health Centre and the Medical Board of Australia were contacted for comment.
