14 DAY TRIAL // The patient, a teenager from New Zealand, came to the doctor when he was 18 years old with what he thought might be a medical issue – he was gay.
The 75-year-old James Craddock prescribed potentially dangerous medication after a home consultation lasting only 10 minutes.
At the age of 16, Craig Hoyle realized that he was attracted to other men and thought it alarming enough to require seeking counsel from members of the local Exclusive Brethren church.
“I believed homosexuality was a sin, that the church could help me cure, so for the next few months they did everything they could to try and change me,” he said in an interview with Ingrid Hipkiss at 3news in New Zealand.
For the following 2 years, he was told that his inclination was the devil's work. As a result, he must be cleansed of it.
“There were prayers, and I was told I had demons, and none of it worked,” he says.
He was made to feel ashamed by the nature of his urges and, when the possibility of a “fix” came along, he was eager to seek out the doctor that could offer it.
The church referred him to one of its members, Sydney-based doctor Craddock. As the doctor was probably familiar with the issue, he didn't perform a medical examination when meeting with the boy.
“There was no physical examination, no discussion of past medical history, and no discussion of side effects,” Hoyle complains.
The drug that he was prescribed was Cyprostat. Commonly used to treat prostate cancer, Cyprostat offers the “cure” to “gayness” - not having urges at all.
Hoyle denounced the doctor to the Health Care Complaints Commission in Australia, as his conduct left to be desired. He hadn't obtained any medical history or followed up on the issue in other appointments. The drug manufacturer also recommends a referral to a psychologist, which the doctor omitted to tell the patient.
Not surprisingly, the Commission found Craddock guilty of unprofessional conduct. As a result, he can never practice medicine again in Australia.