Former Albany obstetrician Dr George Campbell du Toit awarded legal costs from battle to be reinstated in QLD

A former Albany surgeon who was banned from practising by Queensland’s health ombudsman after complaints were made by patients has been awarded legal costs following his battle to be reinstated. Obstetrician George Campbell du Toit was suspended from the Mackay Base Hospital in October 2021 – just over a year after becoming the hospital’s clinical director of obstetrics and gynaecology – after a number of female patients complained about painful complications following surgery. His suspension prompted the WA Country Health Service to carry out a review of the care Dr du Toit provided when he worked at Albany Health Campus between 2016 and 2020 before moving to Queensland. Following the appeal in 2022, WACH said several women had come forward with complainants about Dr du Toit between 2016 and 2020 and that those complainants were being investigated. Dr du Toit then launched an appeal against the QLD ruling. He was successful in having it overturned in November last year. As result, he then applied to have his legal costs paid by the QLD Health Ombudsman which was granted by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal this week. In its decision, the tribunal said at the time Dr du Toit was suspended the QLD Health Ombudsman “had in her possession records which showed the applicant was not the primary surgeon in the relevant cases. This resulted in the applicant’s expert having to address these patients and other wasted preparation”. It also said the Health Ombudsman sought to uphold her decision by reference to the power to take immediate action because it was “otherwise in the public interest” advancing the contention that concerns about the applicant’s performance had been “widely reported causing significant community anxiety” despite not leading evidence at the hearing of any media reports. It also said the QLD Health Ombudsman chose to movie forward on a separate process and take immediate action against Dr du Toit “without first complying with the show cause process provided”. In its decision to allow Dr du Toit to return to practise, the tribunal made no serious criticisms of the his “performance or management and only mentioned his practice in relation to his note-taking and leadership, both of which he freely conceded and which the Tribunal said did not pose a serious risk to patients”.