PETER
Dr McGinity. Curious case … The Medical Council, whose President is Dr Peter Sexton, has treated Dr McGinity harshly, in my opinion. They failed the first time (lack of proper process), then released damaging (unsubstantiated) information.
A wrap:
Examiner Tue 19 May (front page)
I HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE
By Danielle Blewett
Scottsdale’s Dr Paul McGinity yesterday denied seven patients are dead because of his diagnosis, management or treatment.
The Medical Council of Tasmania suspended Dr McGinity for the second time in two months yesterday.
For the first time, the Council said its investigation would examine
23 claims, including Dr McGinity’s emergency treatment of seven patients who are now dead.
Council President Dr Peter Sexton said the main complainant was the Department of Health and Human Services and the detail was released in the public interest.
The eight anonymous would be addressed, he said. “We do have the names of 15 other cases.”
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Background
http://www.examiner.com.au/news/local/news/health/mcginity-the-background/1513098.aspx
McGinity: the background
DANIELLE BLEWETT
15/05/2009 1:14:00 PM
THE first hint that something was amiss in the Scottsdale medical community came late in March.
The Examiner was preparing to publish its story about a heart attack victim.
He was angry that his doctor Paul McGinity’s order for the local ambulance to transport him to the Launceston General Hospital was bypassed.
The Health Department’s director of medical integration, primary and rural health, George Cerchez intervened.
He was troubled and sounded agitated. He said there was more to the story than The Examiner understood.
He urged care — the issue was ‘‘very, very complex’’.
By Friday of that week, the nature of the complexity was clear. The Medical Council of Tasmania had suspended Dr McGinity. Effective immediately.
After 33 years in the North-East, the rangy, 68-year-old GP was felled by a fax.
On a busy Friday afternoon, a waiting room full of patients had to be cancelled. Dr McGinity was shocked, struggling to find a locum.
One woman, who had travelled to Launceston, learned that her referral was invalid because her doctor was suspended.
Bass Liberal MHR Peter Gutwein’s dad was confused.
‘‘Dad phoned to see if he could still take the medication Dr McGinity had prescribed,’’ Mr Gutwein said.
By 4pm on the Friday, Dr Cerchez had confirmed the six-month suspension. The suspension, he said, would have a huge impact on the community.
Its sudden nature would consolidate the repercussions, he said. The suspension would ‘‘take away Dr McGinity’s life’’, Dr Cerchez said.
By Friday night, Medical Council president Peter Sexton hinted at something sinister in his lines confirming Dr McGinity’s suspension:
‘‘The Medical Practitioners Registration Act 1996 provides for the Medical Council to suspend the registration of a practitioner immediately, if it is deemed to be in the public interest to do so.’’
By Sunday, Dr McGinity was still totally unaware of the nature of the claims against him: ‘‘in particular, concerns as to life-threatening medical decisions’’ was all the council stated to the doctor.
On Monday a public protest was planned. Of the 6900 people in the Dorset Municipality, 3000 were patients of Dr McGinity.
The community was outraged. Also on Monday, the Australian Medical Association slammed the Medical Council’s apparently stripping Dr McGinity of natural justice.
While not responding to the claims against Dr McGinity, the AMA made it clear that it was angry at the Medical Council’s process.
AMA State president Dr Chris Middleton said the immediacy of the suspension could see the community suffer and was denying Dr McGinity natural justice.
The next day, Tuesday at 11am, 1500 people protested in the car park attached to Dr McGinity’s George St practice.
He had served outlying Derby and Bridport communities for 33 years and the public passion surrounding the doctor’s suspension was raging.
The vocal, sign-carrying crowd didn’t care about the ‘‘lifethreatening’’ nature of any complaint against their doctor.
They wanted him treated fairly. After all, they said, he had treated them, day and night, and he didn’t appear to be getting a fair shake from the Medical Council.
By late Tuesday, Dr Sexton was prepared to comment, springing to the defence of the hair-trigger nature of the suspension before investigation.
Yes, he said, Dr McGinity had been denied natural justice. But the right to public safety overtook his right to natural justice.
The matter was being fast-tracked out of deference to Dr McGinity and the community, he said.
The council had sought express legal advice before taking the radical step of suspending the doctor without investigation, Dr Sexton said.
Running simultaneously with the suspension was another story.
Earlier the same week, investigators from Melbourne had been brought in by the Department of Health and Human Services.
They came to resolve a year-long dispute between the Health Department and Dr McGinity.
In January 2008, Dr McGinity had resigned from the Scottsdale Hospital. He said he had a personality clash with a staff member.
Later in 2008, around July, Dr McGinity decided he wanted to go back to the hospital and applied for admission rights. The rules for admitting patients had changed, he said.
The Department of Health and Human Services wanted him to agree to treat all public patients in the hospital.
On Wednesday, Dr McGinity was meant to learn the outcome of the independent investigation into his relationship with the local hospital.
Thursday and Friday there was no word. The Health Department and Dr McGinity had gone to ground. Dr McGinity said lawyers had told him not to speak to the media.
The Health Department said the legal issues surrounding Dr McGinity made it difficult to comment.
They would not say what the recommendations were or what conditions were attached.
The Dr McGinity story looks set to get curiouser and curiouser.
Today’s lifting of the suspension of his medical licence in the Supreme Court is a major moment in a long-running saga.
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AMA media release (critical of Medical Council procedures)
http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=7&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amatas.com.au%2Findex.php%3Fitem%3Dfile%26target%3Dmediarealse30mar2009&ei=i3MTSrLbDY_ItAP9-vXlDQ&usg=AFQjCNGLv0PK0UU5MvGpaCttzOxdQZCNYg&sig2=KiAaPOJIHkSjrIx09JlY2A
(I’ve attached this PDF – media_release, etc)
“AMA Tasmania is very concerned that any doctor would be suspended without prior notice and without any opportunity to immediately answer to any complaints that may have been made. AMA Tasmania greatly regrets that the Medical Council considered that it was necessary to take summary action against a practitioner of Dr. McGinity’s standing, effectively preventing Dr.
McGinity from being able to earn a living.”
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http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=8&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.australiandoctor.com.au%2Fnews%2F70%2F0c02e470.asp&ei=i3MTSrLbDY_ItAP9-vXlDQ&usg=AFQjCNEJtGT4RGqLIj01Ne73P__TCf6dLA&sig2=WP2FIjcOqix_KmGbfatooQ
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Support on Examiner’s website
Trust me, this is a political attack which has been framed as an issue of medical concern by bringing up a number of specious and flatly unfounded “medical” cases. A lot of dredging has had to be done by someone in order to make this case, and they seem to have come up with very little on a doctor who has been practising for 33 years. Also, when talking about patients of Doc McGinity who have “since deceased”
lets not forget the ageing demographic of the community that he is servicing, and the period of time (three decades) that these claims come from. How about talking about some of the amazing stories of support and care that have emerged from his patients? These stories outnumber the TMC claims a thousandfold. I suggest that noone makes a judgment until all the facts have been laid on the table – including Doc McGinity’s rebuttals, not just the TMC’s unfounded accusations.
Posted by ab on 19/05/2009 6:39:17 PM
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ABC News (who call Sexton, Dr MIKE Sexton…)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/19/2574432.htm
Posted Tue May 19, 2009 9:37am AEST
North-east Tasmanian GP Doctor Paul McGinity
The Scottsdale doctor who has been suspended from practice says he has nothing to hide and looks forward to a thorough medical investigation.
“The Medical Council says it acted quickly because of “…concern that the safety of his patients may be at risk.”
The president, Dr Mike Sexton, says the council had to take action.
“When the Medical Council received information that 13 patients presented with life threatening conditions and seven of those died, that is a major concern to the Medical Council.”
“The nature of the complaints as I said are serious and so serious that the Medical Council has moved swiftly to suspend Dr McGinity,” Dr Sexton said.”
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Spotted this on ABC News site, posted on Friday by a barely literate journalist.
GOVT DEFENDS HANDLING OF SUSPENDED GP CASE http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/22/2577918.htm
Posted Fri May 22, 2009 9:45am AEST
The Tasmanian Government has hit back at claims a Scottsdale doctor may have used his position to enter the practice of a suspended GP and demand patient records.
The Liberals’ Brett Whiteley says many of the complaints about Dr Paul Mcginity came from Dr George Cerchez, a medical adviser for the Health Department.
Mr Whiteley says he lodged his complaints as a GP, but allegedly obtained information about Dr McGinity’s patients by identifying himself as a health department officer.
But the Health Minister, Lara Giddings, says the Opposition is pedalling lies. (sic)
“Doctor Cechez has advised that all of the matters came to his attention because the patients involved were public patients at the north-eastern Soldiers Memorial Hospital,” he said.
“Serious incidents are automatically notified to Doctor Cechez.”
More background (on Dr Sexton):
Council President Dr Peter Sexton was a director of the National Heart Foundation in 2005.
He was also chief medical officer of the Tasmania Cricket team at the time of player Scott Mason’s death (Mason died at practice from a heart seizure).
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Cricket/Scott-Mason-dies-from-heart-complications/2005/04/09/1112997218192.html
“Tasmanian team medical officer Dr Peter Sexton said he was shocked by Mason’s turn and had felt that his rehabilitation had been on track before Thursday.”
Mason was renowned for his fitness and was first diagnosed of his heart problem after feeling sluggish during pre-season training last August.
SCOTT MASON DIES FROM HEART COMPLICATIONS Sydney Morning Herald
9 April 2005
Tasmanian cricketer Scott Mason has died at the age of 28, just two days after suffering a heart attack while batting in the nets.
The Pura Cup player, who had open heart surgery last year to have a new aortic valve attached, fell to his knees and then had a seizure in front of Tasmanian coaching staff at Bellerive Oval nets on Thursday morning.
He was taken to Royal Hobart hospital and passed away today at 4am following complications.
Former Tasmanian captain Jamie Cox led the tributes for the left-handed opener who played 28 first class matches for the Tigers.
“It is just tragic and ironic that a guy whose heart was metaphorically so big and a man who was so courageous that it was the thing in the end that cost him his life,” Cox said.
“A likeable guy, competitive and inspirational, and one of our true team leaders, and we missed him on the field enormously this season, undoubtedly on the field, but nowhere near as much as we will miss him now.
“He was such a natural leader and so much so, he may have been a future Tasmanian captain.
“His career was just about to take off when he was struck down last year.”
Cox felt it was appropriate that Mason spent his final moments not in hospital, but with his bat and pads on.
“He was a guy who was as tough as possible, and took his last breath with his bat in his hand, like a warrior,” he said.
“He touched a lot of people in his life, he was a really determined little bugger who never gave in but unfortunately this battle was too much for him.”
Cox paid his condolences to the Mason family and Scott’s partner Michelle Howell.
Tasmanian Cricket Association chairman Brent Palfreyman said Mason was not the most gifted cricketer but had made the first class scene through sheer determination.
“He should have had so much more cricket and so much more life in him,” Palfreyman said.
Mason sat out the entire summer following heart surgery and spent nine weeks in hospital last year.
He had scored two centuries and five half-centuries after making his debut in the 1997-98 season and played all of Tasmania’s 10 Pura Cup matches in the 2003-04 season.
Mason was renowned for his fitness and was first diagnosed of his heart problem after feeling sluggish during pre-season training last August.
The Pura Cup batsman was forced to miss the season in which Tasmania won its second domestic title by defeating Queensland in the one-day final in Brisbane.
“Until you have gone through open heart surgery, you can’t prepare for it,” Mason said in January.
“To have a surgeon tell you that you could die, it is hard to describe.”
Mason had a human valve rather than an artificial one attached so that he could continue his sporting career.
Tasmanian team medical officer Dr Peter Sexton said he was shocked by Mason’s turn and had felt that his rehabilitation had been on track before Thursday.
…
RETURN TO WORK OPTION FOR SUSPENDED GP
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/25/2579932.htm
Posted 1 hour 48 minutes ago
Updated 1 hour 40 minutes ago
The Medical Council of Tasmania plans to offer a suspended north-east GP the right to return to work.
A public rally was in held in Scottsdale yesterday in support of Dr Paul McGinity, who has been dealt a six month suspension from practising, for a second time.
His daughter Michelle McGinity read a statement at the rally, in which the doctor called for normal services to be allowed to resume, because his patients are suffering.
The President of the Medical Council, Dr Peter Sexton, says Dr McGinity will be offered that privilege but with some restrictions.
“We are perfectly happy to negotiate with Dr McGinity to allow him to return to practise in his community and our Council solicitor has contacted Dr McGinity’s solicitor and that process of negotiation has now commenced,” he said.
