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August 03, 2005
There is something quite rotten inside the Queensland Health bureaucracy. With the Jayant Patel saga Queensland Health's most senior staff have pleaded ignorance over knowledge of his credentials and incompetence until the scandal erupted. No one is responsible for the evil.
The Dr Berg case, (Dr Vincent Berg was a psychiatry registrar at Townsville hospital with bogus credentials) has shown how a concerted effort to raise grave concerns with the then minister and her top bureaucrats was doomed to fail and was swept under the carpet.
By all accounts Queensland Health is still not fully co-operating with Mr Morris and his staff running the Commission of Inquiry.
Should not the finger also be pointed at the Beattie Government? Despite the media impression of the government as vigorous, dynamic, and getting things done, it looks increasingly incompetent.
Is it not the state government responsible for a dysfunctional and gridlocked health department? Has it not fostered a political culture in which public hospitals are chronically under funded and a bureaucracy that is more focused on balancing budgets and being a business rather than delivering better clinical outcomes?
Oh, where's the AMA in all of this?
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Dear Mr. Doherty,
Thursday, August 4, 2005, 11:46:28 AM, you wrote:
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We're looking for a psychiatrist from Townsville in some strife. Could this be you?
Shane Doherty
News Editor
10 News
07/3214 1024
Yes, you are looking for me. I have been informed about the stories, concerning myself, published in some Australian newspapers.
No need to mention that I am very disappointed with the media, publishing, in my opinion, certain slander and lies. I do not understand how it is possible to make stories public without proper investigation of the evidence and its legal confirmation.
Yet, the evidence shows that:
° There is no legal proof that my medical credentials are forgeries. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists has contacted certain Russian authorities without my permission (this is a breach of Privacy Act) and despite warnings about my certain concerns as a political refugee under the Australian Government protection. The outcome of such a contact was expected for me. Russian authorities, widely known by their lies and dirty methods of persecution their "enemies", have used such an opportunity to make me a damage. Responding to a letter from Australian Medical Council, I have pointed to this and rejected Russian claims, stressing that my credentials have been authentic. Unfortunately for me, neither the Australian Medical Council nor Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists were able to find some alternative possibilities to verify my credentials. It looks like they both accepted that it is impossible for them to legally verify the authenticity of my credentials and vice versa. It comes to my view that the Medical Board of Queensland and other medical authorities have adopted similar position. I appreciate that, unlike some media and Drs. Andrew Johnson and John Allan, they have been acting lawfully and ethically by not spreading information, which they could not legally prove;
° There is no legal proof of any professional misconduct ever committed by me and confirmed by an independent professional inquiry. On the contrary to Drs. Johnson and Allan public lies, no one of my patients have ever experienced any serious complications, but the majority of them have improved. I am still keeping the letters of gratitude from some of them. Claims, that one of my patients has committed suicide while another one died falling down because of being oversedated, are totally false. Why did not Drs. Johnson and Allan initiate an appropriate professional inquiry in Year 2000, as their professional responsibilities would suggest? - Because they did not have any reason for such an action. Besides, Dr. John Allan was my direct supervisor and I could not make any serious changes of the treatment and discharge of patients without his approval. If this is the case, as he now claims, he is responsible for professional negligence(ask him whether any of his patients committed suicide as well);
° It is publicly known, there were some patients deaths in Townsville mental health services considerable time after my contract expired. They were presumably associated with the use (or misuse?) of Clozapine - the antipsychotic medication. I have publicly called on proper investigation and sent e-mails to Dr. Robert Stable (then Director-General of Queensland Health) and Mr. Peter Lindsey, local MP. Yet, no one was found responsible. Now, I do believe that Drs. Johnson and Allan are afraid of a possibility being made responsible for these deaths by Morris' inquiry and attempting to switch its attention from them to me, using this method as revenge as well.
Finally, may I express my hope that every person and organisation involved in this story will further demonstrate their commitment to the law, professional ethics, and respect for human dignity.
Best wishes,
Vincent Berg.