An orthopaedic surgeon who threatened to 'p*** in the mouth' of a colleague during an operation has had his medical registration cancelled.
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registration → threaten → operation
Dr Stewart Proper made the vile threat after an accidental mishap during the surgery saw a drape fall towards a patient's wound.
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drape → make → wound
'What the f*** are you doing?
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you → do → What
If this lady gets an infection I'll hunt you down and p*** in your mouth,' he said, according to a judgment.
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he → get → judgment
He later apologised for the outburst – but then launched a series of foul-mouthed social media attacks on three psychiatrists treating him in the wake of the incident.
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He → apologise → incident
In July, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) found the Glen Iris-based doctor's behaviour amounted to professional misconduct after his operating theatre outburst and the online campaign against the psychiatrists.
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behaviour → find → psychiatrists
And in a further ruling on Monday, the tribunal found Dr Proper had shown 'a persistent lack of insight' and was 'focused on externalising blame', noting his only suggestion for controlling his own behaviour was that he might 'chew gum'.
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he → find → gum
VCAT accepted the outburst was an isolated incident, letting him off with a reprimand and suspending him until January 9 next year.
But the posts targeting the psychiatrists saw the doctor's registration cancelled until at least October next year.
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registration → accept → October
Orthopaedic surgeon Stewatr Proper threatened to 'p*** in the mouth' of a colleague during an operation
In July, the tribunal heard Dr Proper came under scrutiny for an alleged online vendetta against psychiatrists involved in his own involuntary mental health treatment in late 2017.
But Dr Proper insisted to the tribunal that he never had the mental health disorder that was diagnosed, and was not suicidal when he was twice admitted to Monash Medical Centre.
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he → threaten → Centre
'He claims there was no genuine basis for those involuntary admissions,' the tribunal said in its findings.
'
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tribunal → claim → findings
He claims that his admissions were based on lies told by his ex-wife.'
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admissions → claim → wife
Between August 2018 and November 2019 – while under investigation by the Medical Board – he unleashed a torrent of posts on Facebook, Twitter, Google reviews, and RateMDs.
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he → unleash → Facebook
In a series of 'denigrating' posts, the doctor called a psychiatrist a 'lying c***' and accused them of 'bashing' and humiliating him and destroying his life.
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doctor → denigrate → life
One psychiatrist was labelled 'fat, lazy and dishonest' and a 'horrible man with no empathy' who 'smirked' at his distress.
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who → label → distress
Another was compared to a rapist getting away scot-free.
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Another → compare → rapist
'Read and weep Psychiatrist X Psychiatrist Y and the rest of your thugs!' he posted in 2019.
'But my suicide was caused by dishonest, uncaring doctors,' he wrote in another.
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he → read → another
'Psychiatrist Y and Psychiatrist X went out of their way to harm me for the sole purpose of covering their own a***s.
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Y → go → a***s
Dr Stewart Proper made the vile threat after an accidental mishap during ther surgery saw a drape fall towards a patient's wound
VCAT described the doctor's posts as a 'prolonged and vitriolic campaign of denigration' that brought the profession into disrepute.
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that → make → disrepute
The tribunal heard Dr Proper's operating theatre outburst came after a particularly hectic day.
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outburst → hear → day
The drama unfolded on October 13, 2017, during a complex and lengthy elbow revision surgery at the end of what had already been a marathon day for Dr Proper.
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what → unfold → Proper
After more than ten hours at the hospital, with an inexperienced scrub nurse stepping in and complications arising, Dr Proper spotted unsterile drapes threatening to fall into the open wound.
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Proper → step → wound
The tribunal heard he lashed out in the heat of the moment.
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he → hear → moment
After the surgery was complete, Dr Proper discovered the person who had caused the drapes to fall towards the open wound was the theatre technician, whom he knew.
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he → discover → whom
His threat left at least one team member 'extremely uncomfortable'.
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threat → leave → member
While VCAT accepted the high-pressure context and Dr Proper's quick apology afterwards, the tribunal ruled it crossed the line into unsatisfactory professional performance, unprofessional conduct and professional misconduct.
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it → accept → performance
Dr Proper said that his comment had been a 'reflex' action to avoid the drapes falling into the wound of his patient.
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drapes → say → patient
He contended that his actions were an 'immediate reaction' to protect the patient from harm, which he said was the first responsibility of a surgeon.
'
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he → contend → surgeon
He said, in fact, he should be commended for his actions as they reduced the risk to the patient,' the tribunal heard.
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tribunal → say → patient
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Mail → need → podcast
The Medical Board of Australia took both matters to VCAT, which found professional misconduct on each count.
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which → take → count
The tribunal found the surgeon's threat 'had the capacity to impact on patient safety', warning that an abused team may feel anxious and unsafe about raising concerns.
'The public would rightly be horrified that language such as the 13 October comment would be used, in a workplace, by an orthopaedic surgeon, during surgery,' the tribunal stated.
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tribunal → find → surgery
Dr Proper, who represented himself, defended his behaviour in the operating theatre.
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who → represent → theatre
Asked whether he could reassure the tribunal it would not happen again, he replied: 'I can't give you that reassurance because it was a reflex reaction.'
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it → ask → reassurance
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