Family GP faces misconduct hearing
Dr Iwona Kulczyk-Repec who comes from Poland and now lives in Cloyne, Co Cork, is due before the Medical Council’s fitness to practice committee today on a series of professional misconduct charges.
The Medical Council has declined to comment on the case, other than to confirm it will be heard today and tomorrow.
However, documents seen by the Irish Examiner show the GP is facing a series of charges over the supply of large doses of Rohypnol, Xanax and other opiate- based medications to heroin addicts.
It is understood that as part of her remit as a GP, Dr Kulczyk-Repec began treating a small number of heroin addicts who had been referred to her from theArbour House Treatment Centre last year.
The first meetings began in March 2008, with the initial patients treated without any cause for concern.
However, according to the mother of two’s legal team, by late summer the GP had become the target of a number of Irish and Polish criminals who demanded that she repeatedly prescribe large quantities of powerful drugs to specific patients who had no physical need for the medications.
While Dr Kulczyk-Repec at first refused to agree to the prescriptions, her solicitor Tom Coughlan said after a series of threats involving her safety and that of her family, she relented.
Between early September and late November 2008 Dr Kulcyzk-Repec prescribed hundreds of euro-worth of Rohypnol, Xanax and opiate-based medications to a number of known criminals in the Munster area.
The issue raised the suspicion of local pharmacists who received the prescriptions, including HSE community care pharmacist Louise Creed, who raised concerns with Dr Kulczyk- Repec in late September 2008.
However, despite the seriousness of the case, Dr Kulczyk-Repec did not contact gardaí over the matter until her prescription pad and signature stamp were stolen from her clinic in early November last year.
She now faces charges of:
* Failing to prescribe appropriate medications.
* Failing to ensure prescriptions were kept in a secure manner.
* Failing to follow existing guidelines on treating heroin addicts.
If found guilty of any of the charges, which will be heard during a two-day Medical Council fitness to practice committee meeting at the Silversprings Hotel in Co Cork, she could be barred from practicing as a physician in Ireland.
“As a professional, I understand that sometimes we make mistakes, sometimes we are less than perfect, but we’re people doing our best to help people,” Dr Kulczyk-Repec’s solicitor Tom Coughlan explained.
“I am representing this woman, as is her barrister Brian Leahy, for free because I believe her,” he added.
An initial hearing on the case on July 6 was postponed as the GP’s legal team had only recently taken up the case. The previous solicitor representing Dr Iwona Kulczyk-Repec had left the case due to a potential conflict of interest.
