An osteopath has been sanctioned for referring to a patient as ‘Nora Batty’ during an appointment.
The reference to the Last Of The Summer Wine character – known for her curlers and wrinkled stockings in the 1980s BBC sitcom – was deemed to be ‘unacceptable professional conduct’.
A disciplinary panel said the remark, made by Peter Rees, was ‘pejorative’ and ‘inappropriate’.
Mr Rees was also found guilty of manipulating the patient’s spine despite the risk this posed because of her condition resulting in a fractured clavicle.
A professional conduct committee of the General Osteopathic Council (OPC) found Mr Rees’s actions to be a ‘serious departure’ from the standards required and admonished him.
