4- Sunday, January 11, 1998 - North Shore News West Van psychiatrist suspended News Reporter ian@nsnews.com A West Vancouver psy- chiatrist must get coun- selling before he will be allowed to practise again in British Columbia. Dr. Eamon Achong, who practised in Maple Ridge until the end of 1997, must also undergo an assessment at a Minneapolis, Minnesota hos- pital, said the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons. The ban stems trom allega- tions of sexual misconduct in Quebec in the 1980s. The College de Medecins du Quebec concluded that explicit sexual acts, culminat- ing in consensual intercourse, had taken place during a ther- apeutic relationship berween Achong and a female patient from 1982 to 1985. The patient had consulted Achong as a result of a sexual- ly dysfunctional rclationship. On Thursday, B.C. college deputy registrar Dr. Morris VanAndel said Achong could be reinstated as carly as March, as long as he meets the col- lege’s conditions. . “If these concerns are not addressed or if concerns are raised by the various people who will be doing these assess- ments then it will take longer than that. “So in terms of effects on the phe public, he is not going to le to to practice between Dee 31 (1997) and at the minimum, the middle of March.” Although ‘Achong denies the allegations, neither he nor a lawyer acting on his behalf appeared. to fight the allega- tions at a 1995 hearing in Montreal, where he practised District of from 1966 to 1985. The Quebce college subse- quendy fined Achong $1,000, ordered him to pay the costs of the hearing and barred him trom practising in Quebec for five years. Achong moved to B.C. in 1985 and was placed on the B.C. college’s temporary reg- ister so he could practise in the province. He must apply cach year for a place on the register. But in 1996, the B.C. working together for a better community