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• A practitioner of Chinese medicine was told to apologise after breaching patient rights.
• The practitioner allegedly touched the woman’s breast and asked personal questions, causing her discomfort.
• A sharps container in the clinic room was overflowing with used acupuncture needles.

A practitioner in Chinese medicine asked a woman personal questions and allegedly touched her breast during a massage in a messy clinic, where used needles were spilling out of a container.

The woman also complained the man massaged her neck “way too hard”, leaving her in pain for several days, and said that he took a phone call from another client on speakerphone during the session.

The practitioner has now been told by the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) to apologise to the woman and engage with a mentor for a year after it was found he had breached her rights as a patient.

The woman, identified only as “Ms A” in the HDC report, had an appointment for a full body massage at a clinic she found online in June 2021.

She later complained that the practitioner providing the massage, called “Mr B”, was “unprofessional and inappropriate from the beginning”, and asked her personal questions about her family and living situation, which made her feel very uncomfortable.

She said he massaged her neck “way too hard”, leaving her with pain that lasted for days, and his fingers repeatedly touched the side of her left breast as she was lying face-down on the table.

The woman also complained that the massage room was “very messy”, with hundreds of acupuncture needles spilling out of a medical waste bucket.

A report by Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Vanessa Caldwell said it was agreed between the parties that at the time of Ms A’s massage, the sharps container in the room was filled to the extent that it appeared to be “overflowing” with needles.

She said it was also agreed that he asked her questions of a personal nature during the massage and answered a phone call.

Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Dr Vanessa Caldwell investigated the complaint. Photo / James Gilberd Photography Ltd

Regarding a complaint he touched her breast, Mr B said he conducted the massage “as usual”, splitting both hands from the central spine to the sides while she was face down, and that “Ms A may have felt that he touched the ‘edge of the sides [of her breast]’ when he was massaging her back”, the report said.

Mr B said she had not informed him of any pain before she left the clinic and, in regard to the personal questions, he often talked to clients to help them relax.

Caldwell said that after obtaining advice from two independent advisors — a Chinese medicine practitioner and a massage therapist — she considered that aspects of Mr B’s provision of care were “clearly below” the expected standard.

She said that due to conflicting accounts and the absence of corroborating evidence, she was unable to make a finding about the breast touching or how frequently it occurred.

However, she accepted the advice of the independent massage therapist she consulted, that touching the breast in this context was “a departure from accepted standards of practice”.

“I am critical that the side of Ms A’s breast was touched without consent during the massage,” Caldwell said.

“It can cause a consumer significant discomfort and distress if a sensitive area of the body is touched, even accidentally or briefly.”

She encouraged Mr B to be more careful when massaging near sensitive areas.

Responding to Ms A’s concern the massage of her neck was “way too hard”, the therapist advising Caldwell said it was “not normal” to apply such pressure in a relaxation massage to cause excessive discomfort without close monitoring of pain levels, and getting informed consent.

Caldwell found Mr B’s incorrect massage techniques, including touching the side of the woman’s breast, the failure to moderate pressure with consumer feedback, and his unprofessional conduct and environment, amounted to a breach of the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights.

She recommended he undertake further education or training in massage techniques, professional conduct, informed consent and clinical documentation.

Caldwell also wanted him to arrange a mentor from the NZ Chinese Medicine Council for 12 months, who would report back to the HDC.

She further recommended Mr B develop a policy regarding informed consent and clinical documentation and draping techniques, and provide this to the HDC.

The report stated Ms A was unable to make a complaint on the clinic website and her phone call to the clinic was answered by another staff member, who apologised and offered her a free course of acupuncture.

Caldwell recommended the organisation implement a functioning complaint form on its website and ensure that brochures about the complaints process were put on display.

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined ��һ�ǿ�����’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay.