Sydney gynecologist is the victim of bullying, says assistant

The office assistant of a Sydney, N.S., gynecologist under investigation says her boss is a kind man who has been the victim of bullying, and possibly even a co-ordinated attack driven by professional jealousy.

Dr. Manivasan Moodley's team began presenting their defence Wednesday, on the third day of a disciplinary hearing looking at allegations of sexual comments and inappropriate touching. The accusations are being heard by a five-person panel of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia in Bedford.

Moodley's assistant, Angela MacKenzie, said she immediately thought her boss was brilliant when she started working with him in April 2017.

She was also working for Dr. Angus Gardner, who was beginning the process of retiring.

"I got the feeling he was a competent physician and I'd be happy to work for him," she said of her new boss.

What 2 patients have alleged

So far, two patients, whose identities are protected by a publication ban, told the panel Moodley asked pointed, detailed questions about sex.

Patient A.B. alleged he touched her vagina during an exam without her consent.

Patient C.D. told the panel the physician showed up at her place of work.

MacKenzie was asked a number of details about the scheduling system, specifically in connection to May 4, 2017.

On that day, C.D. had her first appointment with the physician. She told the panel she was the last patient of the day, and Moodley had walked her to the blood clinic.

Moodley's schedule shows there was a patient booked after C.D.

Missing letter

MacKenzie could not say if the patients were treated in order, as those appointments were held in the ambulatory clinic, not in his other office where she is based.

She was also asked about a letter that was missing from C.D.'s file for July 6, 2017, the day she alleges he made inappropriate comments to her.

MacKenzie said she called the support team for Nightingale, the program they used for electronic medical records, but they never replied.

She said that was not uncommon, and she had other minor problems with the system in the past, including appointments disappearing.

Allegation of professional jealousy

On July 14, 2017, MacKenzie had supper with a friend, who was the office assistant of another physician.

She told the panel that the woman told her a complaint was being filed against Moodley imminently, and it involved alleged comments he made about anal sex.

MacKenzie said the more she thought about it, she suspected the patient was A.B., who had been to the clinic just the day before.

A.B. was the only patient with a specific diagnosis, and MacKenzie said she checked her chart to see if she remembered accurately.

It wasn't until months later that Moodley's first lawyer confirmed A.B. had filed a complaint.

MacKenzie also told the panel about her theory that the office of another physician, Dr. Erin MacLellan, had orchestrated the complaints over professional jealousy.

"Dr. Moodley is smarter than Dr. MacLellan," MacKenzie said. "Dr. MacLellan doesn't like that at all."

The chair of the panel, Raymond Larkin, immediately interrupted that line of questioning.

He said he didn't see the purpose of it because there was "no direct proof," and MacLellan's conduct is not in question.

Larkin was also uncomfortable that MacLellan was not present to defend herself.

Moodley's lawyer, Robin Cook, said he was only asking about it because Moodley had previously shared the same theory on the record with the college.

Fierce defender

Moodley said he believed there was collusion.

Because of that, Cook assumed it would come up in cross-examination, and wanted to address it off the top.

"That's not our case, and we're not going to argue that at all," he said.

MacKenzie is a fierce defender of Moodley.

She said when she called patients about appointments, people would ask about his gender, race and whether he spoke English.

She said that never happened when she worked for Gardner.

Facebook posts

She made several posts in a public Facebook group as a rally was planned in January.

The rally was to support the physician over his licensing issues, and was not connected to the allegations.

In those posts, some people mentioned the allegations against him.

"There is a bigger picture here that ppl are missing," she wrote. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely. The ppl responsible for trying to get rid of Dr Moodley need to be investigated themselves. Let the truth be told!"

She later wrote, "if people knew the whole story, they'd be shocked!"

The hearing continues Thursday, with Moodley scheduled to begin his testimony.