Osborne’s psychiatrist brother ‘begged patient not to reveal their affair’

THE psychiatrist brother of George Osborne begged his vulnerable patient mistress not to report him, just days after she tried to take her own life when he ended the relationship, telling her it would “destroy” his family in public, a disciplinary panel heard.

Dr Adam Osborne, who was married at the time, admitted embarking on the two-year affair with his patient, whom he had been treating for depression, anxiety and chronic fatigue. When he ended the relationship in February last year, the woman made a complaint to another psychiatrist and the General Medical Council (GMC), prompting Dr Osborne to beg and later threaten the woman to retract the complaint, the panel heard,

Dr Osborne, the Chancellor’s younger brother, was not present at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing in Manchester where the tribunal was told that he had “blamed” his patient and saw himself as the “victim”.

The tribunal was told that the woman, referred to as Patient A, had been under Dr Osborne’s care at a private practice in central London between February 2011 and late 2014 and had been in a relationship with Dr Osborne for two years.

Emails between the former lovers were read to the tribunal. In one, Dr Osborne said: “We don’t seem to be able to live with one another and it’s destroying both of us and destroying any relationship that we once had.” Patient A responded saying that she was “confused”, adding “it seems to me like you are breaking it off ”.

She added: “Just please tell me the truth the way it is. I’m very much balancing on the edge and it’s so easy for me to tip over just now.”

Dr Osborne, who admits that he knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the woman was a vulnerable patient because of her history of mental ill-health, replied: “Yes I need to break from this rela- tionship.” Two days later, Patient A was admitted to hospital after an overdose – hours after disclosing the relationship to Dr Neil Boast, a psychiatrist who had been Dr Osborne’s supervisor for a period.

Bernadette Baxter, for the GMC, said the woman had been a “highrisk” patient and the two triggers for the overdose had been the “stress” of the relationship and an ongoing dispute with her partner over the custody of their two children.

The tribunal was told that there had also been contact between Patient A and Dr Osborne’s wife.

After the complaints to the GMC, Dr Osborne sent a “number of inappropriate emails” to Patient A, requesting she withdraw the complaint. One email read: “Please don’t do this to me it will destroy me and my family in public.”

He admitted making threats towards a “fragile” Patient A and talking of the consequences for her family if she did not withdraw her complaint, accusing her of seducing him. Ms Baxter said he saw himself as a “victim”, until the mood changed and he started making threats. The hearing continues.