Qld: "Doctor Death" lied, says health officer

AAP General News (Australia)
04-13-2005
Qld: "Doctor Death" lied, says health officer

BRISBANE, April 13 AAP - A doctor who fled Australia after being labelled "Dr Death"

by colleagues had lied about his medical past in the United States, Queensland's chief
health officer said.

Dr Gerry FitzGerald said Dr Jayant Patel had failed to provide information about any
disciplinary action taken against him when he applied to work in Queensland.

The Brisbane Courier-Mail newspaper reported today Dr Patel had been cited over serious
problems with his surgery in New York State and Oregon.

Dr Patel, who worked as director of surgery at Bundaberg Base Hospital and was trained
on the Indian sub-continent, has been accused of gross incompetence linked to the deaths
or serious injury of at least 14 patients.

He quit his job and fled Australia at Easter after medical authorities started investigating
his work in Bundaberg.

The investigation started after the doctor was named in state parliament and a letter
alleging 14 cases of patients suffering serious post-operative complications was tabled.

Dr FitzGerald said the doctor had lied to Queensland authorities on a certificate of
good standing which was in effect a clearance from his home medical board.

"When he registered there were certain bits of information he was required to provide
including any disciplinary action which was under way, which he failed to do so," Dr FitzGerald
told ABC radio.

He said the Queensland Medical Board was now auditing the certificates of about 1,300
overseas-trained doctors in the state.

"What we understand is that he (Dr Patel) is still registered in Oregon and when he
came to Queensland, now over two years ago, he did have what is called a certificate of
good standing which is basically a clearance from his home medical board to say that he
was entitled to practice," Dr FitzGerald said.

"We have to rely on the certificate of good standing provided by the home medical board
of the registrant and I suppose the whole system is dependent on that."

Dr FitzGerald said the Medical Board had failed to notice that information regarding
disciplinary action was missing on the certificate.

"We are obviously not happy about that," Dr FitzGerald said.

"The vast majority of these overseas-trained doctors are well qualified and experienced
and there is no cause for concern with most of them, but we are obviously not happy about
this one."

Health Minister Gordon Nuttall was in far north Queensland and not immediately available
to comment.

AAP jfs/sc/cdh/jlw

KEYWORD: DOCTOR DAYLEAD

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