Doctor suspended, censured and fined after failing to tell patient of cancer diagnosis...

The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal has suspended, censured and fined a doctor after finding that he failed to inform one of his patients that he had skin cancer.

The doctor asked for a test to be conducted on the patient’s skin. After this test came back, the doctor did nothing to inform the patient of this diagnosis.

The patient died as a result of the cancer, but it was well advanced when they consulted the doctor, so the result would have been the same even if treatment had commenced immediately.

The Tribunal found that the failure to inform the patient amounted to clinical negligence and professional misconduct and that the doctor should be suspended, as well as fined and censured.

The doctor was ordered to pay a fine of $5,000, as well as $26,000 towards to the costs of the Tribunal process.

The doctor is currently retired, but if he ever decides to start practicing again, he will be required to work under supervision, at his own cost.

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Alan Knowsley and Matthew Binnie