Accident – Death – Obituary News :
Women’s Health Clinic in Melbourne Suspends Doctor Following Tragic Incident
A doctor working at a women’s health clinic in Melbourne has been suspended as a regulator revealed it’s aware of concerns about other practitioners there, but the facility’s boss claims it’s a “witch hunt”.
It follows the death of 30-year-old mother Harjit Kaur, who died in January at the Hampton Park Women’s Clinic after what was described as a “minor procedure”. It was later identified as a pregnancy termination.
Regulator Takes Action
On Friday, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) confirmed Dr Rudolph Lopes’ registration had been suspended but did not reveal the reason behind the decision. His registration details show he was reprimanded in 2021 for failing to respond to the regulator’s inquiries.
“[The regulator] has received a range of concerns about a number of practitioners associated with the Hampton Park Women’s Clinic,” Ahpra said in a statement.
Concerns Raised
“Some of these concerns are also before the Victorian coroner. [The regulator] has established a specialist team to lead a coordinated examination of these issues which involve multiple practitioners across a number of professions and across a number of practice locations.”
The regulator said it had shared information with Victoria police and the department of health. Ahpra chief executive, Martin Fletcher, said he was “gravely concerned by the picture that is emerging.”
Facility’s Response
“We have taken strong action to protect the public while our investigations continue,” Fletcher said. “National boards stand ready to take any further regulatory action needed to keep patients safe. While the coroner continues to examine the tragic death of a patient, our inquiries are focusing on a wider range of issues that our investigations bring to light.”
A department of health spokesperson said it had suspended the clinic’s registration as a day procedure centre after finding it was “operating in a manner that poses serious risks to patient health or safety.”
Medical Director’s Statement
Hampton Park Women’s Clinic medical director, Michelle Kenney, told AAP the clinic had “nothing to do with” the death of Kaur. She believed the coroner is looking into whether Kaur had a congenital heart issue.
“I believe this constitutes a witch hunt and that we’re being treated as guilty until proven innocent,” Dr Kenney said. “The death of Mrs Kaur was very tragic, sudden and unexpected. My team had 30 seconds to respond to her heart stopping and they performed an excellent resuscitation which lasted for over 45 minutes.”
Continued Investigations
Dr Kenney said she was uncertain about why Dr Lopes had been suspended. “There’ is nothing more we could have possibly done but nobody’s paying attention to our response at all, or the fact that we had no time to respond,” she said.
A message on the clinic’s website states surgical terminations, sleep vasectomies and IUD insertions with anaesthetic are not available until further notice, but Dr Kenney said that was not related to Kaur’s death. Dr Kenney urged existing patients to be “calm and sensible”.
Police Involvement
“We will be found innocent and hopefully not destroyed by all the regulatory bodies in the meantime,” she said. Victoria police confirmed it had received a report from Ahpra and there would be no criminal investigation at this stage.
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