A DARTFORD GP has admitted handing a female patient a knife and asking her to kill him.

Dr Andrew Doyle also carried on a sexual relationship with the patient which included sending racy text messages and sharing violent pornography with her.

The partner at the Orchard Practice in Tower Road is facing a fitness to practise hearing over the "improper emotional relationship" with someone in his care.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service proceedings began today in Manchester.

As well as the incident with the knife, Dr Doyle also admitted loaning money to the patient, kissing and cuddling her, giving her lifts in his car, buying her gifts and visiting her home for non-clinical reasons.

The relationship is supposed to have taken place between September 2010 and August 2011, but the dates are disputed by Dr Doyle.

He confessed to prescribing the patient excessive quantities of the painkillers codeine and morphine sulphate.

The morphine dosage was ruled to be inappropriately high in combination with her other medications, while Dr Doyle also overprescribed the sleeping pill zoplicone.

He has disputed a further allegation of overprescribing the painkiller pentazocine.

But he admitted failing to inform psychiatric colleagues about the high levels of opiate medication he was prescribing the patient.

Dr Doyle has been suspended for more than two years beginning in October 2011.

His suspension was twice renewed at hearings in April 2013 and on January 9 this year pending the start of full fitness to practice proceedings.

The session was adjourned at 11am this morning and will resume tomorrow when the first witness appears. It is schedule to last until March 11. 

Dr Doyle is facing a panel of three investigators with both medical and non-medical backgrounds.

They will have to decide whether his fitness to practise is impaired and if so, the GP could face being struck off the medical register or having conditions imposed on his continued registration.