A DOCTOR who practiced in Bunbury for about three years from 2011 to 2014 has been deregistered after he was caught prescribing himself the drug oxycodone in the names of other people.
The Northern Territory Health Professional Review Tribunal served Dr Daniel Van Dijk with a nine month ban from practicing medicine after he spent four years lying about his addiction.
The tribunal found Dr Van Dijk providing scripts for the strong painkilling drug to his wife 77 times between June 2007 and November 2010 and her sister on 17 occasions between December 2008 and February 2010.
When he was first confronted about the issue in 2011, Dr Van Dijk blamed a nurse at the practice for making a false complaint and said it would be hard to prescribe medications to his wife because he did not have one.
He continued to deny his relationship with his wife in 2012, even after he was shown a marriage certificate, claiming it was not signed and lodged therefore not official.
At a medical board hearing in February 2013, Dr Van Dijk admitted taking the pain killer in WA for six months after some dental work but in October 2013, continued to deny taking the medication he was prescribing to the two women.
It was not until August 21, 2014, the morning of his hearing that Dr Van Dijk admitted to using the drugs he inappropriately prescribed.
In November, the tribunal found Dr Van Dijk guilty of professional misconduct and deregistered him for a period of nine months citing he was not fit at this stage to return to practice.
In sentencing Dr Van Dijk the tribunal said the action taken was for the protection of the public and the maintenance of proper ethical and professional standards.
It was also said he was “either unable or unwilling to provide any independent evidence that he had in fact changed his addiction to opioids.”
He will be eligible to reapply for registration on July 28.