The extradition of NRI, Dr Jayant Patel from US to Australia has moved closer

 

SYDNEY, Oct. 11, 2007
Suresh Sharma

The extradition of NRI Dr Jayant Patel from the United States has moved a step closer. The Queensland Office of the Department of Public Prosecutions has at last completed its necessary paperwork and sent it to the Federal Justice Department to deal with the US authorities.

One expert said, it is very clear that it is still a long way to go and shouldn't preclude officials from dealing with the matter with the greatest sense of urgency

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Australia to extradite Dr 'Death' Patel
11 Oct 2007, 0236 hrs IST,IANS

SYDNEY: Australia is moving towards the final stages of extraditing from the US of India-born Jayant Patel who has been linked to 87 deaths of patients he treated between 2003 and 2005 at a Queensland hospital.

Dubbed "Dr Death" by the Australian media, Patel worked in the Bundaberg Base Hospital in Queensland and has been in the US since 2005. In what is probably the worst medical-negligence scandal in Australia, he allegedly falsified his application to practice medicine in this country.

He then falsified death certificates and refused patients' transfers to other hospitals to cover up "botched treatment and surgery".

Queensland Attorney-General Kerry Shine said: "I am advised the final signed affidavits are now with the Federal Justice Department. This was the result of close consultation with Commonwealth officials to prepare the best possible case for extraditing Jayant Patel."

A US court will ultimately decide whether extradition will be granted. However, there are still a number of steps before a decision will be made by the US on the application for Patel's extradition.

Prosecutors are pursuing 16 charges against him, including three charges of manslaughter, three charges of grievous bodily harm, two charges of negligent acts causing harm and eight charges of fraud.

In Queensland, manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Medical practitioners are much in demand in Australia, especially in remote towns, but Patel's case sparked concerns over the recruitment of overseas doctors.

Patel, banned from surgery in two US states, was employed at the regional Bundaberg Base hospital for A$200,000 per annum in 2003. In late 2003, he was promoted to director of surgery at the hospital.

On April 1, 2005, Patel's bosses signed on a $3,547 business-class, one-way airfare for him to travel to the US, despite him being neck-deep in accusations of fatal incompetence.

The Bundaberg Hospital Commission of Inquiry was told how in one case a doctor turned off a woman's life support ventilator because Patel wanted her bed to operate another patient.

In another case a nurse said she had seen Patel try to drain blood in a "stabbing motion" from the man's heart, using a hard needle some 50 times. The man died that night.

One charge related to the care of an Aboriginal woman who developed gangrene in her leg after she was allegedly left without treatment for weeks following an amputation.

Questions being asked are if the Australian medical system needs to undergo a major health check to ensure checks and balances are in place while recruiting overseas doctors.

Dr M Srinivasa, former president of the Overseas Medical Graduates Association of Australia, says: "There are very strict policies and protocols in place for overseas medical recruits. The Australian Medical Council administers the national examinations of overseas trained medical practitioners seeking to practice medicine in Australia. I have been here practising for 35 years, and this was a one off case."

Indian doctors here also fear that they will be tarred with the same brush.

As families and loved ones of Patel's patients await justice, this city of clear skies, sunshine and sugarcane with an urban population of over 43,000 and only four hours drive north of Brisbane is yet to come to terms with the pain and suffering caused by one doctor in their public hospital. Patel treated a total of 1,202 patients during the period the deaths took place.