MATTHEW DENHOLM The Australian
PAUL McGinity is an old-style country doctor, so dedicated to his 3000 patients that he is berated by colleagues for working too hard, never refusing a home visit in the early hours and taking too few holidays.
After 32 years of service to the rural community around Scottsdale, a timber town in Tasmania’s northeast, Dr McGinity’s career has come to a humiliating halt.
He has been linked to the death of seven patients after complaints to the Medical Council of Tasmania, which has suspended the general practitioner’s registration pending an investigation.
However, far from being treated as a pariah, Dr McGinity has the unwavering support of his patients, including at least one whose treatment forms the basis of a key allegation.
What’s more, Dr McGinity is turning the tables on what he claims are “vexatious” accusers. He claims his chief accuser — Department of Health and Human Services primary health adviser George Cerchez — has a potential conflict of interest.
Dr McGinity and his supporters claim his only crime is to be a thorn in the side of plans for a new $1.2 million clinic for Scottsdale.
A recording of a telephone conversation obtained by The Weekend Australian reveals DHHS secretary David Roberts saying Dr Cerchez was “not acting for the department” — casting doubt on comments made in parliament by Health Minister Lara Giddings. While most politicians would run a mile from a doctor facing such serious allegations, the state Opposition said there was such a “stench” about the case that it should be subject to an independent review.
There are complaints against Dr McGinity relating to 23 patients, but unusually none is made by them or their families. Dr McGinity has been led to believe that all but four complaints were submitted by Dr Cerchez.
Dr McGinity was notified of the further 19 cases at the same time his suspension over the first four was being successfully challenged on a technicality in the Supreme Court. The suspension was later reinstated.
Dr Cerchez, with whom Dr McGinity has a history of dispute, is also on the board of local doctors’ group GP North.
GP North has obtained federal funding of $500,000 to build a $1.2million medical complex in Scottsdale. Dr McGinity is not interested in joining the new clinic, preferring his old style of solo operation.
The other four complainants are GPs at Scottsdale’s other practice, despite their insistence yesterday that they had “nothing to do with” the allegations.
It is expected the four will move to the new medical centre, which — if Dr McGinity loses his registration — will take his 3000 patients.
The 68-year-old told The Weekend Australian he was confident he had not made “any mistakes”. And while accepting the medical council’s obligation to investigate the complaints, he believed there should be an inquiry into the manner in which the allegations were made.
He was “very concerned that there is an ulterior motive behind this” and that Dr Cerchez had a potential conflict of interest: “There are three factors: he is on the board of GP North; GP North wants to build a clinic; I’ve got lots of patients — 3000; they haven’t asked me to join the clinic but they need those patients.”
He said he also had a long history of “disagreements” with Dr Cerchez …
