U.S. trained surgeon could face manslaughter charges in Australia

Dec 2 2005

An enquiry in Australia has recommended that a U.S. trained surgeon should face manslaughter, grievous bodily harm, assault and fraud charges.

Following public allegations of malpractice against him by a senior nurse at the regional Bundaberg Base Hospital, Queensland, Mr Patel fled Australia in April.

Commissioner Geoff Davies, a retired judge and the head of the enquiry, has said that as a result of negligence on the part of Dr Patel, 13 patients at the Bundaberg Base Hospital died and many others suffered adverse outcomes.

A six-month enquiry has found that the deaths of 13 patients were directly due to negligence on the part of Dr Jayant Patel and he has been implicated in the deaths of as many as 80 patients.

It was also found in the 538-page report that Mr Patel "knowingly misled Queensland health officials by failing to disclose his previous full work history in the United States" and repeatedly performed surgeries he had been barred from doing in the U.S.

The report also advises that the hospital's district manager, Peter Leck, and its director of medical services, Dr Darren Keating, be prosecuted for "official misconduct".

Mr Patel who was educated in India and worked for 20 years in New York and Oregon, had his medical licence withdrawn in both states.

He then moved to Australia in 2003, where he falsified his application and obtained a job as director of surgery at the rural Queensland hospital.

The case has widened to become an investigation into the Queensland's health system following questions about how Mr Patel was able to practise in Queensland, despite being previously cited for negligence in two U.S. states.

Gordon Nuttall resigned as Queensland's health minister over the scandal in July, and along with health minister Wendy Edmond was reprimanded for deception and secrecy.

However he remains in government and is now the Primary Industries Minister and is being investigated by the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) for misleading parliament.

He appears to still have the support of the Queensland Premier Peter Beattie.

Bundaberg Hospital's suspended administrator Dr Darren Keating may be prosecuted by the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) for official misconduct, for allegedly providing false and misleading information.

Australian police are seeking the extradition of Mr Patel, who is believed to be back in the U.S., in Portland, Oregon.

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said Mr Davies' recommendations were under investigation and to date police had interviewed more than 400 people and taken more than 360 formal statements, including 33 from overseas.