Lip v Medical Board of Australia

[2012] QCAT 173

CITATION: Lip v Medical Board Of Australia [2012] QCAT 173

PARTIES:	Dr Patrick Yoke Choon Lip
v
Medical Board Of Australia

APPLICATION NUMBER:   OCR020-12

MATTER TYPE: Occupational regulation matters

HEARING DATE: On the papers

HEARD AT: Brisbane

DECISION OF: Judge Fleur Kingham, Deputy President
Assisted by
Dr Jonathan Osborne
Dr Stephen Pozzi
Ms Fiona Petty

DELIVERED ON: 20 April 2012

DELIVERED AT: Brisbane

ORDERS MADE:      1.    The conditions imposed on Dr Lip’s registration by order of the Health Practitioners Tribunal in matter number 2558-2007 are removed.

CATCHWORDS: 

HEALTH PRACTITIONER – MEDICAL PRACTITIONER – CONDITIONS – REVIEW – Where the former Health Practitioners Tribunal imposed conditions on the registration of a general practitioner – where the practitioner complied with them – where the practitioner was eligible to apply to remove them – where the Board consented to their removal – conditions removed

Health Practitioners (Professional Standards) Act 1999, ss 124(1)(a), 241(2)(b), 337(b), Schedule

APPEARANCES and REPRESENTATION (if any):

This matter was heard and determined on the papers pursuant to s 32 of Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act2009 (QCAT Act).

REASONS FOR DECISION

1. This is an application by Dr Lip to remove conditions imposed by the former Health Practitioner Tribunal on 20 October 2008.  QCAT has since assumed the jurisdiction of that Tribunal.[1]

[1]The conditions were imposed pursuant to the Health Practitioners (Professional Standards) Act 1999 s 241(2)(b) and may be reviewed pursuant to s 337(b) of that Act.

1. It made its decision during disciplinary proceedings brought against Dr Lip by the then Medical Board of Queensland.  The ground for disciplinary action was that Dr Lip had behaved in a way that constituted unsatisfactory professional conduct.[2]

[2]Health Practitioners (Professional Standards) Act 1999, s 124(1)(a), Schedule.

1. During the relevant period Dr Lip was a Medical Superintendent at a regional hospital with a right to private practice.  He is a long standing, well regarded and valued practitioner in a regional centre.  The demands of both hospital practice and a busy clinic were significant.

1. The demands on Dr Lip increased when the hospital closed for renovations and its patients were transferred for treatment at a hospital in another centre.  This situation lasted for some time.  The additional load of travel exacerbated problems which had already begun to manifest in Dr Lip’s accessibility to his many patients and in his communication with and level of care of them.  At some point in the proceedings Dr Lip gave up his position with the hospital and informed the Health Practitioners Tribunal that he would confine his practice to his private clinic.

1. At the request of the parties, the Health Practitioners Tribunal made orders that enabled Dr Lip to continue to practise, after a period of suspension, under strict conditions intended to ensure he did not take on more responsibilities than he could cope with.

1. The orders imposed limits on Dr Lip’s working hours and the number of patients that he could treat; required him to clearly communicate to patients arrangements for emergency or out of hours care; required him to practise under supervision; and obliged him to complete further training about communication skills, managing emergency presentations and geriatric care.

1. Dr Lip has completed the required training.  The Board released him from further practise under supervision some time ago.  An independent audit recently verified Dr Lip has practised within the limits imposed by the conditions.

1. Although Dr Lip could have applied to remove those conditions twelve (12) months after they were imposed on his registration, he did not do so until almost three (3) years had passed.  Given Dr Lip’s performance on the conditions, the Board has consented to Dr Lip’s application to QCAT to remove the conditions.

1. Dr Lip is a very experienced general practitioner who has provided lengthy and valuable service in regional Queensland.  He found himself before the Health Practitioners Tribunal when an already demanding workload became excessive and his standard of care of his patients deteriorated.

1. Dr Lip voluntarily assumed the responsibilities that overwhelmed him.  It is clear he felt a strong sense of commitment to his regional community.  It seems Dr Lip raised his struggle to cope with Queensland Health at the regional management level, but the situation was not resolved prior to disciplinary action.

1. Providing adequate services in regional centres is a vexed issue for Queensland Health, which must endeavour to meet reasonable community demands with constrained resources and a small pool of professionals to draw upon.  However, in a region that is under-serviced by practitioners, it must be cognizant of the risk of a willing practitioner taking on unsustainable commitments in accepting a hospital position with a concomitant right of private practice.

1. Dr Lip has not held the position of Medical Superintendent since March 2007 and does not intend to seek such a position again.  He continues to work in his private clinic and provides a valuable service to his community.

1. The period these disciplinary charges relate to was lengthy (from 2003 to 2007).  However, Dr Lip has practised under conditions for more than three years.  In that time, he has not had the dual demands of public and private practice.  It is reasonable to expect that he has developed different work habits, which should guard against future over commitment.  Dr Lip has indicated he will continue to observe the practise limits, generally.  They provide sensible guidance and the Tribunal commends them to Dr Lip.

1. The conditions imposed on Dr Lip’s registration by order of the Health Practitioners Tribunal in matter number 2558-2007 are removed.