Health Care Complaints Commission v Gorman [2011] NSWMT 7

Procedural Posture

Medical Disciplinary Complaints Alleging Unsatisfactory Professional Conduct, Professional Misconduct and Incompetence to Practise Medicine / Principal Judgment After Consolidated Hearing of Two Notices of Complaint

Legal Issues

1. 1 ["Whether the Respondent's treatment and management of identified patients was significantly below the standard reasonably expected of a practitioner of an equivalent level of training or experience." 'Whether the Respondent engaged in unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct under the Medical Practice Act 1992 and the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW).' 'Whether the Respondent was not competent to practise medicine within the meaning of s 139 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW).' 'Whether deregistration, cancellation of registration, a restriction on review, a prohibition order and costs should be ordered.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Commission proved that the Respondent's conduct in relation to multiple patients was significantly below the standard expected of a practitioner of equivalent training and experience, including through inadequate assessment, inadequate records, inappropriate spinal manipulation, failures to diagnose and treat conventionally, failures to obtain informed consent, and improper management of drugs of addiction. His rigid and firmly held medical philosophy, disdain for conventional general practice, lack of insight and unsafe approach to spinal manipulation created a real risk of misdiagnosis and inability to give impartial advice. The Tribunal therefore found unsatisfactory professional...

Court Disposition

Complaints of unsatisfactory professional conduct, professional misconduct and incompetence to practise medicine were proved. The Respondent was deregistered and his registration cancelled, with no application for review for three years. The Respondent was ordered to pay the Commission's costs. The Tribunal declined...

Orders

• ['The Respondent is to be deregistered under s 64(1) of the Medical Practice Act 1992.' "The Respondent's registration is to be cancelled under 149C(1) of the National Law." "The Respondent is prevented from making an application for review of the Tribunal's orders for a period of three years from the date of the...