Queensland Health is refusing to back down on a decision to deny a Proserpine doctor unsupervised access to his patients in the Proserpine Hospital.
Dr Paul Joice who has been practising in Proserpine for more than 33 years was banned from treating acute patients in the government-run institution after a credentialing committee found the doctor’s application for credentialing failed to satisfy the “independent clinical experts” on the committee.
Committee chairman Dr Max Mansoor said while the onus was now on Dr Joice to demonstrate he was able to safely practise in the fields of obstetrics and acute care, “the department would not be taking a backward step on the safety of patients just because an individual wishes to run a misleading, unfounded media campaign”.
Dr Paul Joice, who treats 200 patients from his Main St surgery every week, said he was tired of being harassed and was considering making the heart-breaking decision of shutting the practice down.
“These are intimidatory, stand over tactics by an authority - that cannot get is own act together – under the guise of protecting the public. God help us, someone should protect the public from Queensland Health,” said Dr Joice yesterday.
Dr Joice said under no circumstance would he be taking up the offer from the health department to treat his hospital patients “under supervision”.
“I trained half these doctors. It’s a character assassination and as I have said last week and I will say again I want an independent assessment of what has happened here,” he said.
“They have offered me no explanation as to why they consider me incompetent and I take offence to the association between myself and Dr Patel,” he said.
Dr Joice said at the end of the day, he was beginning to feel he no longer had an option.
“Yes I am considering walking away. I can get a job in a place like Port Headland … where I can work without being harassed. A place they actually appreciate doctors, because this is a denigration of my character on some pretext where I am not even party to the reasons,” he said.
The story on last week’s front page drew a massive response from readers with countless texts to the editor – some appearing on the opinion pages.
One such letter was from long time patient Dell Linneweber who met the doctor when he first arrived in town 33 years ago.
“Dr Joice delivered my baby Lloyd in 1979 just after he had come here,” Ms Linneweber said.
“I had a daughter with heart complaints, he assisted with her throughout her whole life. For 33 years I have put my faith in Dr Joice and I am not about to second guess that now!.”
Ms Linneweber’s granddaughter Connie was born on January 24 one of the last days the doctor was allowed into the hospital unsupervised.
“Now Dr Joice was allowed to go up and see her on the Friday but all hell would have broken loose if my daughter-in-law Rhea hadn’t have had him as a doctor. It’s a personal sort of thing,” she said.
“Now I know Dr Joice isn’t everybody’s cup of tea but if you like him – the choice should be yours.”
But the doctor from the Mackay committee maintains that a second opinion was also sought from the director of rural and remote health which upheld the findings.
“However, the committee has invited Dr Joice to provide further information and has indicated it will reconsider his application on February 14. It will be open to Dr Joice to provide the required information to the Committee and satisfy the experts on the Committee that it is safe to allow him to practise unsupervised,” Dr Mansoor said.
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