A&E doctor who had relationship with female patient is suspended
- Dignity 4Patients
- Aug 18
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 27
By Stephen Gordon - Belfast Telegraph -19.08.2025 – [N.IRELAND] – [Matthew Young]
Medic’s flirting at Antrim Hospital led to an affair and a misconduct rap. A doctor has been sanctioned over “sexually motivated misconduct” involving a woman patient.
A tribunal found A&E medic Matthew Young’s behaviour was “opportunistic” rather than “predatory”.
Dr Young admitted to flirting with the patient at Antrim Area Hospital. He got her phone number and afterwards began sending her texts, which led to a consensual relationship. In texts, she called the doctor “hot”, while he described her as “gorgeous”.
A Medical Practitioners’ Tribunal Service (MPTS) panel found it “more than likely” during the brief consultation on July 8, 2021 Dr Young told her “, he would not normally get to meet a lovely young lady like you”, or words to that effect. Dr Young denied saying that, but admitted talking to the patient about whether she had a boyfriend.
A lawyer for the GMC submitted that Dr Young employed “flattery” with a view to “chatting up” Patient A/MS A. The tribunal heard Dr Young had texted Ms A saying: “Thank you for making my day. Matthew.”
She replied: “Aww, thank you for making mine too. I can't believe I gave you my number lol you seemed so lovely and hot I couldn’t help myself x.”
Dr Young replied: “It doesn’t happen to me every day a gorgeous woman gives me her number, I promise you. It's usually tears or abuse lol. So yea, can't get much better.”
The relationship ended the following April, and the tribunal said Ms A had “clearly been very hurt by Dr Young’s actions towards her in being unfaithful”. Queen’s graduate Dr Young, who is also a bodybuilder, is now working in Scotland but does ad hoc medical cover work at events here, the tribunal heard.
He admitted flirting with the patient, receiving her telephone number and having a relationship with her.
The tribunal said cases of sexually motivated misconduct were always serious, but added: “It considered in this case the actions of Dr Young were at the lower end of the spectrum.”
In its published determination, the tribunal said: “At the time of the events that have led to these proceedings, Dr Young was employed as a speciality doctor in the emergency department of Antrim Area Hospital.
“He is currently working as a locum in the Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway.”
In its finding, it said Dr Young’s conduct had constituted an abuse of his professional position.
It added: “In the tribunal’s view, though, it did not consider that his conduct was properly characterised as predatory behaviour [in the sense of seeking out the patient or relying on her vulnerability] but rather had been opportunistic in nature. “It had found that the doctor had opened the way by virtue of the conversation to inappropriate behaviour by, effectively, flirting with Patient A. “He had then been proactively engaging in misconduct by taking the first step of texting Patient A, eventually leading to a relationship.
“It remained the case, however, that Dr Young had failed to maintain professional boundaries and had used his position to pursue a sexual relationship with a patient.”
But the tribunal found not proven allegations that, in telephone conversations with Ms A in April 2022, Dr Young had made threats or offered inducements in an attempt to persuade her not to report his inappropriate actions to his employer and/or the General Medical Council.
The decision also states texts revealed the woman had threatened to go public following their break-up. It said the messages showed “Patient A had indeed threatened Dr Young with going to the press, and that she had persisted in making contact with him after the break-up, and that the text messages showed him indicating that he was experiencing some distress... the text messages also showed that Patient A held a significant degree of hurt over Dr Young’s conduct”.
A lawyer for Dr Young said he should not have flirted with Patient A during the consultation, nor engaged in the relationship, as it was plainly inappropriate. But he said Dr Young had “been through some three years of hellish scrutiny”, adding he had “learned from his foolishness and will not repeat his behaviour”. Finding Dr Young’s fitness to practise impaired, the tribunal said it determined he “does not present a future risk to patient safety”. “Further, the tribunal did not find that the doctor had acted dishonestly in the circumstances of the case, and no dishonesty had been alleged.
“The tribunal did, however, consider that Dr Young had acted without integrity and had breached fundamental tenets of the profession concerning the relationship of a doctor with his patient by: using the consultation to pursue a sexual relationship; by continuing the pursuit in sending texts to Patient A immediately afterwards; and by entering into a close personal relationship with Patient A.”
It said Dr Young had demonstrated remorse, and it was satisfied he had also taken appropriate steps to understand and address his behaviour.
Deciding on a three-month suspension order, the tribunal said there was a public interest in allowing an otherwise competent doctor to return to practice, while marking the seriousness of the misconduct.
It said the order was sufficient to send out a clear message to the profession that this type of conduct is unacceptable in order to maintain proper professional standards.
‘The tribunal did not consider his conduct as predatory... but rather that it had been opportunistic in nature’
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article and were abused in state run medical and health facilities, you can contact Dignity4Patients, whose helpline is open Monday to Thursday, 10am to 4pm.
Dignity4Patients Commentary:- This case highlights the vital importance of professional boundaries in healthcare. Even seemingly opportunistic actions—such as flirting, texting, or entering into a relationship with a patient—amounts to serious misconduct. When these boundaries are crossed, both doctors and patients risk unnecessary harm, emotional distress, and lasting consequences. Breaching medical codes of conduct not only undermines patient safety and trust but also damages the integrity and accountability of the profession. What may appear consensual or harmless can ultimately harm patients, leaving them with feelings of confusion, betrayal, while also tarnishing the reputation of the doctor and the wider medical community.
