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Attorneys for mind surgeon Charlie Teo have warned a disciplinary board to keep away from “hindsight bias” in ruling over surgical procedures he carried out that left two feminine sufferers with catastrophic mind accidents.
Dr Teo confronted a remaining Well being Care Complaints Fee (HCCC) listening to in Sydney on Wednesday, earlier than deliberations started as as to whether he ought to obtain an expert reprimand and extra oversight on his apply.
Allegations embody that Dr Teo did not correctly inform the sufferers of the dangers concerned with surgical procedure, failed to achieve correct affected person consent, slapped one of many sufferers within the face and used unprofessional language throughout consultations.
Fee counsel Kate Richardson stated throughout her closing submission that Dr Teo eliminated an intensive part of 1 affected person’s proper frontal lobe with out informing her first.
Dr Teo’s lawyer Matthew Hutchings argued what neurosurgeons intend to do previous to a surgical procedure, and what really occurred, generally various enormously.
He stated judgments had been generally made “within the warmth of the second” throughout a process and {that a} “hindsight bias” shouldn’t be utilized to the complaints.
Chatting with the media after the listening to, Dr Teo described Australia’s medical complaints system as “responsible till confirmed in any other case”.
“It has been very miserable sitting in there listening to folks making judgments about you. About issues that you already know are utterly incorrect,” Dr Teo stated.
“How you are not empathetic, the way you deal with your sufferers with disrespect. I imply, that is simply not me.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Ms Richardson argued Dr Teo confirmed an absence of judgment and perception in how he interacted with sufferers’ households and the way he handled discrepancies between his personal views and the opinions of different specialists.
She questioned the longer term danger to the general public in Dr Teo’s response to allegations that he slapped a affected person throughout the face in view of her relations.
Dr Teo instructed the listening to this week it was not a “Will Smith-type slap” and that he would proceed to evoke sufferers utilizing the strategy, regardless of three different specialists telling the listening to slapping a affected person is totally unacceptable.
“He recognized in his view his key shortcoming was that he did it and the household may see,” Ms Richardson stated.
Mr Hutchings famous Dr Teo’s ability as a surgeon was not in query by any of the specialists who appeared on the listening to.
“It can’t be stated the surgical procedure was not finished with due care and ability, appropriately making an attempt to ship on what was deliberate,” he stated.
Passionate public {and professional} assist for Dr Teo might maintain little weight within the board’s resolution, together with claims that imposing further restrictions could be towards the curiosity of present and future sufferers.
Letters from 10 overseas-based neurosurgeons and 47 former sufferers and their households had been tendered to the board, together with three emails and one letter of assist from Australian medical professionals.
“There may be not something in these letters or statements on their face to indicate the authors … had been conscious of the complaints and their particulars,” fee junior counsel Megan Caristo stated.
No formal statements of assist had been offered by Australian-based neurosurgeons, regardless of Dr Teo reaching out to 2 of his colleagues, the listening to was instructed.
“I feel they do not wish to be seen as a Charlie Teo advocate as a result of it has polarized the neurosurgical group,” Dr Teo stated.
Former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh attended Wednesday’s listening to, describing Dr Teo as a “good man and an awesome Australian”.
A four-person Skilled Requirements Committee will deliberate on a call.
-AAP
