Butcher doctor Reeves too sick to return to jail, appeal court told

SYDNEY:  The Court of Criminal Appeal has heard former gynaecologist Graeme Stephen REEVES, who mutilated a woman’s genitals, should not go back to jail because of his poor health.

Graeme REEVES was released on parole in 2013 after serving part of his two-and-a-half-year jail sentence for removing a patient’s clitoris without her consent during an operation to take out a pre-cancerous lesion.

He was found guilty in 2011 of maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on Carolyn DeWaegeneire at Bega on the New South Wales south coast.

In December last year, the High Court overturned a decision to increase his jail time by 18 months because of his deteriorating health.

It sent the case back to the Court Of Criminal Appeal to reconsider the sentence.

His lawyer has told the Court of Criminal Appeal that REEVES needs to be on dialysis and cannot get the proper treatment he needs in jail.  The court has reserved its decision until a later date.

REEVES sat in court just metres away from Mrs DeWaegeneire.

Outside court she said she hoped his sentence was increased.

“The legal system is geared towards the perpetrators,” she said.

Commenting on reports that more than 60 other charges were dropped against Reeves last year due to insufficient evidence, she said:  “It’s appalling… it’s a slap in the face for police who investigated him.”

Lorraine LONG, an advocate for REEVES’ patients, said many of the women who complained about him have had trouble getting legal representation.

“But he has had a dream run with Legal Aid”, she said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-23/graeme-reeves/5473612
Former gynaecologist Graeme Reeves needs dialysis, too sick to return to jail, appeal court told
By court reporter Jamelle Wells

ABC Radio Updated Sat 24 May 2014, 06:25am AEST

MEAG COMMENT:  Butcher Reeves’ health a higher priority than the victims he butchered!  He’s got ‘the system’ attending to his every whim, whereas his victims fought for years to be heard and to this day have still not listened to.  Shame New South Wales, shame.  

Mistakes kill 60 hospital patients in 2 years

Sixty patients died in ­Victorian hospitals in 2011-2013 due to mistakes, while a catalogue of 75 other incidents reveals that tubes and surgical packs were left in patients after surgery.

In one case a patient died after surgeons operated on the wrong person or wrong body part, while five died following medication errors, the Victoria Health Department’s latest logs of ­mistakes show.

Another 13 patients escaped death after having instruments left in their bodies after surgery, however 5 of them lost the function in parts of their body at least temporarily due to the errors.

After two weeks of pain following elective surgery a patient was found to have a plastic draining tube left in their lower abdomen and had to undergo more surgery to remove it.  Another suffered an infection when a surgical pack was left inside them after an operation to remove a tumour.

The Department on Wednesday 21/5/14 issued death statistics for 2011-12 and 2012-13, but it ­refuses to identify which ­hospitals are responsible.

“Regrettably, adverse events and clinical errors do occur from time to time, with negative impacts for patients, their families and carers, and staff”, the report states.

“The department seeks to learn from these events to prevent them from happening again.  To this end, all adverse events are thoroughly investigated to determine the systems and processes that caused them, and to develop and implement preventive strategies.”

In 2011-12, 33 people died in Victoria’s hospitals for reasons that had nothing to do with their admittance condition.  Another 27 died in 2012-13.  17 committed suicide while in inpatient units.

Among other incidents:

  • Nurses crushed a patient’s antibiotics and administered them into the arm via a catheter, rather than give them as the prescribed oral pills.  The patient deteriorated and died;
  • A renal failure patient later died after being moved from an Emergency Department to a ward because no intensive care bed was available.  Critical information was not passed on;
  • Despite being ordered not to feed sandwiches to a patient with a history of choking on small food, staff did so.  The ­patient choked and died;
  • A patient died a day after falling from a bed and being found alone and unresponsive.
  • Another patient lost the full function of their legs after a medical team missed for a fortnight a build-up of fluid compressing their spinal cord.

MEAG comment:  60 patients only?  And the rest!  Why aren’t the hospitals being named?  Victorians have a right to know which of their hospitals are error-prone.

Doctors still failing to scrub up

The adage that cleanliness is next to godliness may not ring true in the corridors and operating theatres of Australian hospitals.

Only 66% of hospital doctors comply with appropriate hand hygiene, compared to 83% of nurses.

Not only are hospital doctors less likely than nurses to comply with the World Health Organization’s “Five Moments for Hand Hygiene”, but the more senior the doctor the less likely he or she is to wash their hands before examining a patient, local research found.  The study analysed data from Hand Hygiene Australia along with hand hygiene rates reported on the MyHospitals website.

Despite showing improvements since the National Hand Hygiene Initiative began in 2009, it found only 66% of hospital doctors comply with appropriate hand hygiene (up from 46%) compared to 83% of nurses (up from 68%).

A negative correlation was also observed between hand hygiene compliance and the educational status of the doctor.

Apparently doctors are often sceptical of hand-washing guidelines and believe “between patient” hand-washing to be sufficient, ignoring the “inevitability of touching potentially contaminated objects like patient notes, bed curtains, door handles, mobile phones and computer keyboards between patients!

No wonder infections are rampant.

Source:  MJA 2014; 200(9):508-09, 534-37

Rockhampton’s “Dr Disaster” suspended

Dr Antonio VEGA VEGA, aka “Dr Disaster”, accused of botching four operations in Queensland has had his medical registration suspended.

Dr VEGA VEGA has already been stood down from Rockhampton Hospital, far north Queensland.

The Medical Board of Australia said it suspended the specialist urologist’s registration on 9 May 2014 pending further inquiries by Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Authority (AHPRA) and the Board itself.

MEAG comment: The Medical Board and useless AHPRA only acted when the media exposed the malpractice… typical reaction.

Hep C victims agree to $13.75m settlement

The women involved in a class action against drug-addicted anaesthetist James Latham PETERS for infecting them with hepatitis C have agreed in principle to settle the case for $13.75 million.

The case had been due to go to trial on Monday before Justice John Dixon was told of the proposed settlement.

Dr PETERS and the other defendants had indicated they did not want to pay out all the women in the class action and then have to take part in a trial involving the one victim, but changed their minds on Monday.

Five of the victims were in court for the settlement announcement.  They were later in tears as they hugged each other at their lawyer’s office, saying: ‘‘We’re stronger because we have been to hell and back.  From darkness comes some light.’’

One of the victims, who cannot be identified, said the settlement meant “the end of torment and heartache”.  It’s done and it’s over and we can move on with our lives.  Money will help, it always will but it never really mattered about the money.  It was all about getting justice.”

The victim said PETERS’ actions had torn apart families, including her own.  She said the best thing about the settlement was that she and her 2-year-old son would now be able to buy a house and start a real life again.

There had originally been 50 women suing DR JAMES PETERS, CROYDON DAY SURGERY, DR MARK SCHULBERG (who hired PETERS as an anaesthetist at the clinic and who operated the clinic at the time) and the AUSTRALIAN HEALTH PRACTITIONERS REGULATION AGENCY (AHPRA) for damages for pain and suffering, economic loss and medical expenses.

The class action covered women who had been infected with hepatitis C during pregnancy terminations at the CROYDON DAY SURGERY between June 2008 and December 2009 when PETERS was the anaesthetist.

PETERS, 64, was jailed last year for 14 years with a non-parole period of 10 years, after pleading guilty to 55 counts of negligently causing serious injury to the patients by injecting himself with prefilled syringes of fentanyl – an opioid used in general anaesthesia – in theatre at the surgery.  He then administered the remaining drug to the patients as they underwent pregnancy terminations.

April 28, 2014 – 13:06
Mark Russell
smh.com.au

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/hep-c-victims-agree-to-1375m-settlement-20140428-zr0qs.html#ixzz30AhDOafQ

Lifetime ban for nursing home rapist


A NSW nurse DANIEL MOONEY has been banned for life from healthcare work after he sexually assaulted an elderly nursing home resident who was unable to move or speak.  Last year MOONEY was convicted of two counts of sexual assault on the woman, a high-care patient at a Wollongong facility who had Alzheimer’s disease and had been left speechless and with very limited movement after a stroke.  He was sentenced to 11 years in jail.

The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission last week banned MOONEY from engaging in any healthcare work – paid or voluntary – under a provision of the Health Care Complaints Act.

“The possibility that Mr MOONEY may engage in similar conduct on his release from prison poses a risk to the health or safety of members of the public,” the HCCC said.  MOONEY’s duties included caring for and treating the 82-year-old woman, who was under 24-hour care.

MOONEY, 41 at the time, was disturbed by another carer in the patient’s room in the pre-dawn hours of 21 September 2012 at the Marco Polo Nursing Home in Unanderra, New South Wales, according to media reports of police evidence during his trial.

He was allegedly discovered in her room again on 31 October, when another nurse found the patient without her underwear and clinging to the bed rails.  But MOONEY allegedly returned and committed another assault two hours later, police said.

The Wollongong District Court heard MOONEY had admitted to the 2012 attacks and also confessed to assaulting another helpless female resident of the home in 2010.

An incident had been reported to senior staff and management at the time, but police were not informed.  The Marco Polo Nursing Home was issued a noncompliance notice by the NSW Department of Health in 2013 for allegedly failing to report a suspected assault.

MOONEY entered nursing in 1997 and worked at the home from 2004 until 2012.  He was convicted in 2013 will be eligible for release in 2020.

 

Vale Senator Brian Harradine 1935-2014

Richard William BRIAN HARRADINE 1935-2014

Australia’s longest-serving independent Senator Brian HARRADINE has died in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 79 after a long illness.

Senator HARRADINE was the one and only politician who would listen to us, and we mean listen to the tragedy that was the tainted blood scandal.  He was instrumental in having the Australian Senate Inquiry into Hepatitis C and Blood Supply in Australia in 2004.

Senator HARRADINE read out some things in the Senate which led to the first waves of truth about CSL and the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) becoming public.

Senator HARRADINE was only interested in hearing from us direct, not people who purported to be representing us.  We had the facts and not the poly waffle. A great man.  He was incorruptible;  that was the feeling he gave off.  How many people, particularly politicians, are like that?

Here’s a tribute in itself:  Blood inquiry witness faces court action | 3 April 2003

Medical Error Action Group, incorporating The Tainted Blood Product Action Group, salutes Senator HARRADINE.

Failed PIP breast implant replaced with now recalled brand CEREFORM

Faulty PIP breast implants replaced with now recalled brand CEREFORM, hundreds of Australians may be affected
ABC News Online
By medical reporter Sophie Scott and Alison Branley
1 April 2014  18:00 hours

Authorities do not know how many Australian women had faulty French breast implants replaced with a second, now recalled brand.

Last month the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announced the Australian distributor of PIP breast implants, Medical Vision Australia, had pulled its CEREFORM implants from shelves following a recall in France.

Despite the recall, Medical Vision are still spruiking the product on their website.

The recall occurred after the French regulator found the paperwork around sterilisation did not meet international standards.

In Australia, the TGA said there had been no increase in infection rates with the implants and there was no health risk.

About 4,800 CEREFORM implants have been sold in Australia since 2009 and while only some would have been replacement implants, hundreds of women could be affected.

Among them is Cairns woman Christine STEPHEN, who was never told her CEREFORM implants came from the same distributor as PIP.

Ms STEPHEN had her PIP implants removed after one ruptured.

She developed a severe infection around her replacement CEREFORM implants and had to be rushed to hospital.

“It had to be all scraped out. I didn’t know whether I was going to wake up with or without a breast,” she said.

While she was understanding about the PIP recall, she is angry the CEREFORM implants have also been recalled.

She has spent $25,000 on surgeries so far and needs another operation to remove scar tissue.

“I cannot understand why a product from the same company [sic] and same distributors was allowed into the country and knowingly put into somebody who had been through PIP,” she said.

CEREFORM was distributed by the same company in Australia as PIP but is made by a different company in France.

Ms STEPHEN refutes the TGA’s assertions there has been no increased rate of infections with CEREFORM.  She says she had an infection and it was not recorded.

“It just feels like there’s been a lot of lies. And a lot of people passing on blame where it’s black and white,” she said.

Medical Vision Australia did not respond to the ABC’s inquiries.

No figures available on CEREFORM replacements.

Authorities say they do not know how many women in Australia had PIP implants replaced with CEREFORM implants.

The TGA says it does not monitor the sale of approved products and relies on information from surgeons and suppliers.

The Australia Society of Plastic Surgeons says it does not have figures on CEREFORM replacements.

Its president, Dr Geoff LYONS, says the latest recall underlined the need for a breast device registry.

“A world-class registry has been developed in Australia and is ready for national roll-out pending government funding,” he said.

PIP removal process ‘traumatic’ for many women

Lawyer Tim WHITE represents women who had faulty French breast implants, and says the CEREFORM recall was following the same pattern as PIP.

“I expect this is a first step they are using so that if there is a problem it’s not further multiplied by continuing to use the product,” he said.

Mr WHITE has clients who had the PIP implants replaced with CEREFORM.  He says the PIP removal process was traumatic for many.

“A lot of the women ended up consulting psychologists because they were that concerned,” he said.

“Some were put on anti-depressant medication.  A lot of women took time off work because they weren’t coping emotionally.

“It was a significant impact on many of them.”

Mr WHITE is concerned regulators have not learned lessons from the PIP saga, with no requirement for distributors to have product liability insurance.

“Here you’re dealing with a class three medical device which is a high-risk device according to the TGA,” Mr WHITE said.

“If these implants have to be removed because there is a fault then… it falls to the individual lady to cover the cost out of her own pocket.  This is the great concern for consumers in Australia.”

TGA says no identified health risk from CEREFORM implants

The TGA says CEREFORM was recalled overseas because its makers did not comply with regulations.

A spokesman says there is no identified health risk but as a precaution surgeons in Australia were notified and surgeries with the implants were cancelled.

“The TGA is not aware of any increased infection rates among Australian patients receiving CEREFORM breast implants and there is no evidence that any of the implants already supplied in Australia have not been sterilised properly,” he said.

Dr Daniel FLEMING from the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery advises the TGA on the implants, and says there is no risk to patients with CEREFORM implants.

“This is a failure of documentation, not a failure of the sterilisation,” he said.

“The TGA is not aware of any increased infection rates among Australian patients receiving CEREFORM breast implants and there is no evidence that any of the implants already supplied in Australia have not been sterilised properly.”  A TGA spokesman.

“The importer, the distributor in Australia, has been duped in the same way everybody else has in these matters.”

Dr FLEMING says patients with CEREFORM are at no greater risk of infection.

He does not use CEREFORM implants.

“All patients who have an implant have a chance of infection, about 1 per cent, so of course there are patients who are going to have an infection with CEREFORM implants,” he said.

“But the risk is no greater with CEREFORM.”

The TGA says if there was to be an infection associated with the implant it would follow the initial operation.

Mr WHITE says it also underlines the need for an opt-out breast implant register.

“There’s no process to be able to alert individuals to inform them of this potential problem,” he said.

“There’s certainly been other cases of breast implants failing and so no this is not the second example of it, there’s certainly been others.”

VIDEO:  Faulty PIP breast implants replaced with now-recalled brand (ABC News)
PHOTO:  Despite the recall, Cereform breast implants are still advertised on Medical Vision’s website (ABC News)
RELATED STORY:  Australian investigation into breast implants after French recall
RELATED STORY:  Founder of French breast implant scandal firm jailed
RELATED STORY:  German company ordered to pay over faulty breast implants

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-01/faulty-pip-breast-implants-replaced-with-now-recalled-cereform/5359086

UK hospital poisonings: Nurse charged with three murders

A 47-year-old registered nurse Victorino CHUA has been charged with murdering three hospital patients.  He also faces 31 charges involving 25 other patients at the Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom.

They include eight attempted poisonings, one of grievous bodily harm and 22 of attempted grievous bodily harm (GBH).  CHUA is due to appear at Manchester magistrates’ court tomorrow morning. 

The medic had spent two years and three months on bail after first being quizzed by detectives in January 2012.  the probe followed the death of patients whose drips were allegedly contaminated in the summer of 2011.

CHUA was originally held on suspicion of killing three patients – Tracey ARDEN, 44, Arnold LANCASTER, 71, and Derek WEAVER, 83 – by poisoning.

The latest charges came after he was dramatically re-arrested in a dawn raid on Thursday, 27 March 2014.

CHUA, a registered nurse since 2003, was pictured wearing a camouflage hooded top and black hat as he was led from his home in Heaton Chapel and bundled into the back of a police van.  Several officers were involved in the arrest of CHUA, who had been due to answer police bail on Monday.

In a statement, a Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: “A man has been arrested in connection with the investigation into the deliberate contamination of products and tampering of medical records at Stepping Hill Hospital.”

Detectives believe a worker at the hospital injected insulin into saline solution, poisoning 22 patients in June and July 2011.

Former journalist, Bill DICKSON, 82, Linda McDONAGH, 60, John “Jack” BEELEY, 73, Beryl HOPE, 70, and Mary CARTWRIGHT, 89, died several months after it was suspected they were poisoned.

They are among the number of cases being treated as grievous bodily harm.

Police are understood to have obtained new evidence after an investigation which lasted almost three years.

CHUA was barred from approaching any witnesses or attending any medical sites during the probe.

Before his arrest, another Stepping Hill nurse, Rebecca LEIGHTON, spent six months in prison accused of poisoning patients.

All criminal charges against her were later dropped but she was sacked after admitting stealing drugs.  She was suspended for three months by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Adelaide: Ex-midwife banned, fined after homebirth baby deaths

Former Adelaide midwife Lisa BARRETT has been found guilty of professional misconduct and fined $20,000 after being involved in a number of home births where babies died.

The Health Practitioners Tribunal of South Australia also banned Ms BARRETT from working as a midwife, including the provision of almost any services to pregnant women and their babies.  It found that while she had relinquished her midwifery registration in 2011, she had continued to provide services akin to midwifery.  The findings follow a coronial inquest in South Australia into the deaths of three infants between 2007 and 2011 where Ms BARRETT was involved in supervising high-risk home births.  The Coroner found that all three babies would have lived had they been born in hospital by caesarean section.  He had also been made aware of another death in Western Australia where Ms BARRETT had been involved with the birth.

In its judgment the Tribunal found that Ms BARRETT’s conduct was substantially below the standard reasonably expected of registered midwives of her level of training and experience and amounted to professional misconduct.  It said the protection of the public was its paramount consideration and for that reason only health practitioners suitably trained and qualified to practice in a competent and ethical manner were entitled to be registered.

“The respondent is reprimanded in the strongest terms,” the judgment said.
AAP