A charity is calling for a GP to be suspended over his “harassment” of a woman who was raped by his son.
Dr Andrew McFarlane, 61, was arrested and charged with communications offences in August after he called Ellie Wilson a “manipulative liar”, a “slut” and a “hippo” in a series of posts on X.
In 2022 his son Daniel McFarlane was convicted of raping Ms Wilson, who has since become a campaigner for survivors of male sexual violence.
Rape Crisis Scotland has complained to the General Medical Council (GMC) twice about Dr McFarlane’s conduct, but he is still able to see patients in NHS Highland.
The GP has yet to appear in court over the charge. The has made several attempts to contact him, but he has not responded.
‘Constantly worried’
The previously reported that Dr McFarlane began posting about Ms Wilson’s case earlier this year, claiming his son was the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
He said Ms Wilson threatened, blackmailed and abused his son.
He also posted screenshots of private and sexual conversations between his son and Ms Wilson.
Daniel McFarlane attacked Ms Wilson between December 2017 and February 2018 when he was a medical student at the University of Glasgow.
He was found guilty of two rape charges and sentenced to five years in prison in July 2022.
His conviction was secured, in part, because Ms Wilson had covertly recorded a conversation she had with McFarlane, in which he admits to raping her.
McFarlane tells Ms Wilson: “I feel good knowing I am not in prison.”
His father, Dr McFarlane, began tweeting about the case earlier this year and was reported to the GMC for his conduct in July.
The following month, Sandy Brindley, the chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, wrote to the GMC, saying Dr McFarlane was causing “a great deal of distress” to Ms Wilson, “who finds herself constantly worried about what he may post next”.
Ms Brindley asked the GMC to “urgently investigate” the GP’s ability to practise medicine in light of “deeply troubling behaviour”.
She argued that the GP’s posts were “abusive” and “particularly concerning” coming from someone whose profession “relies on their ability to handle patient information sensitively”.
She said: “Given the content and volume of his online posts, we are particularly concerned about the potential for Dr McFarlane to cause harm or distress to any patients who may have experienced sexual violence or domestic abuse themselves.”
Tribunal ruling
The GMC is an independent regulator responsible for dealing with complaints about doctors.
It decided to refer Dr McFarlane’s case to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), which make decisions about fitness to practise.
Rather than suspend him, the MPTS decided in August to impose special conditions on his medical registration – he was charged with communications offences over his posts less than a week later.
Dr McFarlane is now personally required to inform the GMC if there are any changes to his job title or contact details for his employer.
On 4 September, Ms Brindley wrote to the regulator again, expressing “grave concerns about the lack of seriousness by which the GMC appears to be treating this matter”.
She called for the GP’s suspension to be reconsidered.
“It can take a lot of courage for survivors of rape to disclose their experience, and GPs are frequently the first professional a rape survivor may disclose to,” Ms Brindley said.
“Survivors seeing a practising GP harassing and publicly calling into question whether a woman has been raped (despite her perpetrator being convicted and currently in jail for his crimes) could jeopardise their relationships with their own GPs.”
In any case where a doctor is arrested, the GMC pauses its own internal investigations.
Dr McFarlane was previously employed as a locum GP at the Alness and Invergordon Medical Group, but the understands he has not worked there for around a year.
He is free to see patients within NHS Highland, but it is not clear whether he is currently employed.
The health board said it was taking “all necessary and appropriate steps” to ensure the safety and wellbeing of patients.
A spokesperson for the GMC said: “As soon as we became aware of the concerns, we took immediate action — launching an investigation and referring Dr McFarlane to an interim orders tribunal.
“A full investigation is now underway alongside ongoing criminal proceedings. Dr McFarlane is currently subject to interim conditions on his practice.”