Now it has finally happened, Ms Cockburn said it felt like she could start a "whole new life".
Ms Cockburn developed Cushing’s syndrome and adrenal insufficiency due to over-prescription of one drug, and terminated two pregnancies after discovering the lingering side effect of another drug was severe foetal malformation.
"I was diagnosed with Cushing’s in 2018.
"I laid my complaint with the Health and Disability Commission [HDC] in 2019, and in 2022, he was found guilty.
"We’re now in 2026, and his name is just about to be released. It’s been a very, very long process."
The doctor was Dr Robert Morton, a vocationally registered general practitioner.
He had been Ms Cockburn’s primary GP.
Dr Morton has been found guilty of negligence and professional misconduct by the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.
In October 2008, a doctor advised Dr Morton he had seen Ms Cockburn, agreed she had guttate psoriasis and recommended treatment with Daivonex and Dermol ointments, using each on alternate days.
Over the next few years, Ms Cockburn’s prescribed dosage of Dermol was increased on many occasions.
Dr Morton was the prescriber on most of those occasions. While many were telephone requests, he saw Ms Cockburn on three occasions for in-person consultations.
"By 2018, I was really, really unwell," Ms Cockburn said.
"I didn’t even realise how sick I was until my friend actually diagnosed me with Cushing’s.
"She saw my stretch marks and things like that — I didn’t even know what that was, so I googled it.
"I literally had every single symptom."
She then went to a different doctor, where she discovered she had a medical alert on her file that had been ignored since 2012.
"Oh, it’s very shocking. Especially because this was the second time that he’d made a mistake. In 2013, he prescribed a drug for my psoriasis. He didn’t do any of the things he was supposed to do, any of the testing.
"I ended up getting pregnant and had to medically terminate. And so he wrote me an apology letter, and I forgave him, because I thought, ‘Oh, you know, we all make mistakes’."
In August 2019, following the diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome, Ms Cockburn laid a complaint with the HDC regarding Dr Morton’s treatment and prescribing of medications.
In January 2021, the HDC issued an opinion finding Dr Morton was in breach of the Code of Health and Disability Consumers’ Code of Rights.
"So all this time I was waiting and waiting for him to retire," Ms Cockburn said.
"In 2021, it was taken to the director of proceedings, and still waiting for him to retire. He didn’t.
"I was really, really angry."
The waiting took a huge toll on her physical and mental health, Ms Cockburn said.
Cushing’s syndrome is a hormonal disorder caused by prolonged exposure to excess cortisol in the body.
It is most frequently caused by long-term, high-dose use of corticosteroid medications.
Ms Cockburn has had surgeries for brachioplasty, abdominal plasty, thigh plasty and a brachial plasty.
"So they’re four massive operations, and I had them in three years.
Through those three years, Dr Morton was fighting name suppression, Ms Cockburn said.
"He fought it through the tribunal, and they declined it. So he took it to the High Court, and they declined it. And then he took it to the Court of Appeal.
"But each time I’m lying in a hospital bed, undergoing surgeries to fix his mistakes. I get an email from the director of proceedings saying, ‘I’m so sorry, Nikki, but he is taking it to the Court of Appeal’."
The naming of Dr Morton was, therefore, significant, she said.
"I’m glad for this day. He deserves it, and I deserve it.
"I’m gutted for him because I think he could have used this experience as a teaching tool to teach his peers."
These days, Ms Cockburn describes herself as "100% OK".
"I still struggle with a lot of muscle pain and nerve pain and stuff from the operations. But I’ve lost about 30kg; I’ve had all my operations. I’m working full time as a carer for disabled people.
"Life is basically back to normal."
