Jayant Patel
Queensland Health and the Bundaberg Base Hospital were involved in a scandal surrounding the employment of surgeon Jayant Patel. The Queensland Medical Board approved his registration and he was then quickly promoted to Director of Surgery even though he lacked specific qualifications.
In March 2005, Rob Messenger raised concerns with Patel's medical practices in the Queensland Parliament after he was contacted by hospital nurse Toni Hoffman. Hoffman received the 2006 Australian of the Year Local Hero Award for her role as a whistleblower.
An inquiry into the matter known as the Morris Inquiry was started but was terminated on the grounds of perceived bias. A second inquiry known as the Davies Inquiry found that the Queensland Health district manager and the hospital's Director of Medical Services had mostly ignored more than 20 complaints regarding Patel.
On 1 July 2010, Patel was sentenced to seven years' jail after he was found guilty of three charges of manslaughter and one count of grievous bodily harm.
Read more about this topic: Queensland Health