David John Ford, a partner at the Eyecare Plus clinic in Grafton on the north coast, has been prevented from practising for two months by the Optometry Tribunal of NSW, which found his conduct ''unethical and improper''.

A complaint was brought against Mr Ford by a female patient after he ended a year-long affair to reconcile with his wife. The woman withdrew her complaint but the Health Care Complaints Commission believed her accusations to be serious enough to warrant an investigation.

The first liaison took place at the Prince Street clinic in Grafton in March 2009, where the patient described the pair kissing.

In early April, she described another appointment: ''When I got inside the room, David … said words to the effect of 'I made your appointment 30 minutes long'. We then had sexual intercourse on the floor of the treatment room.

''After about 25 minutes, I said to David that I actually did need my eyes tested and he stopped touching and kissing me so he could test my eyes.''

After the examination, she said the optometrist had declared: ''Not bad - 30-minute examination in five minutes.''

Her initial complaint read: ''The man is a predator. He looks for women's vulnerabilities and he hoans [sic] in on them. In my case I was a very lonely woman, starved for affection. I always tried to hide it but he saw straight through me. He has a gift in that way.''

In his evidence Mr Ford admitted sex in the clinic had taken place but said it had been after hours. He also revealed he had been treated for anxiety and depression since 2005, saying by March 2009 his marriage had ''effectively broken down'', although he stayed in the marital home.

A reference letter from the Reverend James Annesley of Grafton Uniting Church said Mr Ford was ''genuinely remorseful''.

In imposing a two-month suspension, the tribunal found Mr Ford's judgment had been ''significantly below the standard reasonably expected of an optometrist''.

Mr Ford did not return calls.