Latest news with #ChrisWebster
West Australian
13-07-2025
- Health
- West Australian
Andrew Miller: Why we shouldn't judge the doctor who diagnosed mushroom murders
Diagnoses, like people, are often more complex than they first appear. In medical school we learn that the trickiest patients are undifferentiated, straight off the street, which is why it takes least a decade to train a good GP. Leongatha Urgent Care GP, Dr Chris Webster, has been media fodder since testifying in the trial of his erstwhile patient — recently convicted murderer, Erin Patterson. The doctor has a habit of using what 'refined persons' might call 'colourful language'. Ausdoc, a medical insider news source, reported Dr Webster's apprehension at having to testify in the triple-murder case: 'I was just myself.' As someone who has previously been summoned to a murder trial, I can confirm that circling crocodilic barristers certainly can induce some intestinal hurry. Dr Webster sports a natural mullet, wears Coca-Cola socks, and now he will probably have to answer to AHPRA, the medical regulator, for his media appearances. 'My thoughts were, 'holy s..., you did it, you crazy b...., you poisoned them all',' he reportedly said to one newspaper. Was he wise to have said that? No. Should his licence to practice medicine now be imperilled? It might be. There has been a myriad of indignant complaints about his choice of words when describing his brief interaction with the murderous cook. I am not sure whether to slap him, give him a hug, or both. I always feel that way when confronted with naive colleagues who have come unstuck by publicly sharing their inner trauma monologue. Doctors must keep confidential matters to themselves — except where required by law, when we must do the opposite. However, no one has yet identified any confidential thing Dr Webster has said in interviews that goes beyond the existing public record. AHPRA will focus on that, and his use of F-bombs and words like 'nutbag', which seem the least of modern society's concerns, if television is any guide. He may have avoided trouble by sounding more like Arthur Conan-Doyle's Dr Watson — 'I was shocked and dismayed to realise that this person, who I directly observed being distant and cold toward the victims, may have intentionally poisoned them all.' Same meaning. There is a well-known cognitive bias in diagnosis — tunnel vision — where we become overly focused on details and miss the wider perspective. Dr Webster says he never considered mushroom poisoning before he was alerted by doctors treating the other victims in Dandenong. We fall into the same trap when we rush to profile a doctor for speaking boganese. Patients need doctors they can relate to. I've never met him, but my educated guess is that people from diverse walks of life appreciate it when Dr Webster explains medical issues like a regular person, rather than a textbook. Let's remember that he was the first to figure out what happened, and to contact authorities. He treated Ian and Heather Wilkinson — two of the victims. He saw Patterson ignore them as they lay ill and was so alarmed at her lack of urgency in bringing her children for assessment, that he famously told her: 'They can be scared and alive — or dead.' The medical profession has a tradition of academic excellence and rigorous training, but it sometimes harbours a counterproductive broomstick up its whatsit. I trained with some rough square pegs who the patients and staff loved, but the bosses considered them to be lacking refinement. As Heather Wilkinson was leaving for Dandenong intensive care, she wanted to thank Dr Webster. He knew, as they said goodbye, that she would probably not survive. We should remember that, when critiquing his forthright views on her murderer, so that we understand him better, even if we might have chosen different words, or none. The doctor who diagnosed murder should stay away from the spotlight to recover awhile. When we judge others — be they murderers or doctors — it's their actions that matter, far more than any words.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- BBC News
Chris Webster: The doctor who sounded the alarm on Australia's mushroom murderer Erin Patterson
Within minutes of Erin Patterson walking into a tiny hospital in rural Victoria, doctor Chris Webster realised she was a cold-blooded killer."I knew," he tells the BBC."I thought, 'Okay, yep, you did it, you heinous individual. You've poisoned them all'."Dr Webster had spent the morning frantically treating two of the four people a jury this week found Erin had intentionally fed toxic mushrooms - concealed in a hearty beef Wellington lunch served at her home in July was convicted of the murders of her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, as well as Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66. Erin was also found guilty of attempting to murder local pastor Ian Wilkinson – Heather's husband – who recovered after weeks of treatment in initially, when Heather and Ian presented to Leongatha Hospital with intense gastroenteritis-like symptoms, Dr Webster and his team thought they were dealing with a case of mass food poisoning. Heather had described for him a "lovely" afternoon at Erin's house, the physician told the trial."I did ask Heather at one stage what the beef Wellington tasted like and she said it was delicious," Dr Webster suspicion had fallen on the meat, so the doctor took some blood samples as a precaution and sent them off for analysis in a town with better medical facilities, before hooking the Wilkinsons up with soon he would receive a call from the doctor treating Don and Gail at Dandenong Hospital, about a 90-minute drive away, and his stomach wasn't the meat, it was the mushrooms, she told him. And his patients were on the precipice of irreversible slide towards immediately changed tack, beginning treatment to try and salvage their failing livers, and preparing to transfer them to a larger hospital where they could receive specialist care. It was at this point that someone rang the bell at the front of the a Perspex security window was a woman telling him she thought she had gastro."I'm like, 'Oh, hang on, what's your name?' And she said, 'Erin Patterson'," Dr Webster says."The penny dropped… it's the chef."He ushered Erin into the hospital and told her he suspected she and her guests were all suffering from life-threatening poisoning from toxic mushrooms. He quizzed her on the source of the fungi included in her home-cooked dish."Her answer was a single word: Woolworths," he says."And it all just suddenly coalesced in my brain."There were two things that convinced him of her guilt in that moment, Dr Webster it was a far-fetched answer. Admitting she had foraged wild mushrooms, as many locals in the area do, wouldn't have set off alarm bells. Saying they came from a major grocery chain with stringent food safety standards, on the other hand, was two, there was no concerned reaction from the mother-of-two – despite being metres from where Ian and Heather, relatives she said she loved, lay on beds desperately sick."I don't know if she even acknowledged their presence," he leaving Erin with nurses to undergo some basic health checks, he went to see the Wilkinsons off to Dandenong Hospital. He recalls watching the elderly couple being loaded into an ambulance, Heather calling out to thank him for his care as the vehicle doors were closed."And I knew," he says, trailing off."It's actually quite difficult to talk about without getting emotional.""She could have quite easily done the complete opposite and screamed… 'Thanks for nothing'."That may have been easier to accept than her sincere gratitude, he says. "You know, I didn't catch it [the poisoning] earlier." But he had no time to process the gravity of their last interaction, rushing back to the urgent care room only to find Erin had discharged herself against medical desperately trying to call her on her mobile phone, gobsmacked and concerned, Dr Webster decided to call police."This is Dr Chris Webster from Leongatha Hospital. I have a concern about a patient who presented here earlier, but has left the building and is potentially exposed to a fatal toxin from mushroom poisoning," he can be heard saying in the call played at the spells her name for the operator, and gives them her address."She just got up and left?" they ask. "She was only here for five minutes," Dr Webster her trial, Erin said she had been caught off guard by the information and had gone home to feed her animals and pack a bag, pausing to have a "lie down" before returning to the hospital."After being told by medical staff you had potentially ingested a life-threatening poison, isn't it the last thing you'd do?" the prosecutor asked her in court."It might be the last thing you'd do, but it was something I did," Erin defiantly replied from the witness stand. But before police reached her house, Erin had returned to hospital voluntarily. Dr Webster then tried to convince her to bring in her children – who she claimed had eaten leftovers."She was concerned that they were going to be frightened," he said in court."I said they can be scared and alive, or dead."Erin told the jury she wasn't reluctant, rather overwhelmed by the doctor who she believed was "yelling" at her. "I've since learnt this was his inside voice," she Webster clocked off shortly after, but the trial heard medical tests performed on Erin and her children would return no sign of death cap poisoning, and after a precautionary 24 hours in hospital, they were sent home. Guilty verdicts a 'relief' Two years later, when news of the jury's verdict flashed on his phone on Monday, Dr Webster began was one of the prosecution's key witnesses, and had struggled with the "weight of expectation"."If the picture is going to make sense to the jury, if a small puzzle piece is out of place, it could upset the whole outcome of the trial… I really didn't want to crack under the scrutiny."It's a "relief" to have played his part in holding Erin Patterson – who he calls "the definition of evil" – accountable."It does feel like [there's] that reward of justice."For him though, the biggest sense of closure came from seeing Ian Wilkinson – the only surviving patient – for the first time since sending him and his ailing wife off in an ambulance."That memory of Heather being sort of taken away in that fashion, that's now bookended by seeing Ian standing on his feet again.""That brought some comfort."
RNZ News
08-07-2025
- RNZ News
Doctor who treated Erin Patterson describes moment he came face-to-face with convicted murderer
By Mikaela Ortolan, ABC Dr Chris Webster was convinced of Erin Patterson's involvement in the mushroom poisoning of her in-laws when she told the emergency doctor she got the death cap mushrooms from Woolworths. Photo: ABC News While convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson sat in a Leongatha hospital just days after she had prepared and served a poisonous meal to her relatives, it was one word she said that led a doctor treating her to believe she was guilty. Dr Chris Webster answered the Leongatha Hospital doorbell when Patterson first presented and quickly connected the 50-year-old to four other patients who had suspected mushroom poisoning. On Monday, a jury found Patterson guilty of murdering her parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson. She was also convicted of the attempted murder of Gail's husband, Ian Wilkinson, who fell gravely ill after the lunch but survived. Webster, who gave evidence during the nine-week trial, said he grew suspicious of her almost immediately. "I explained that death cap mushroom poisoning was suspected and [asked] where'd you get the mushrooms," he said on Tuesday. According to him, she replied with a single word: "Woolworths." And it was in that moment that he said he came to the conclusion that Patterson had carried out a murderous act. "When she didn't respond in a way that instantly would have explained it as a tragic accident, that's it, from that moment in my mind she was guilty," he said. "She was evil and very smart to have planned it all and carried it out but didn't quite dot every 'i' and cross every 't'." Webster said there was a lot to take in when he first walked into the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell. "You're terrified, you're incredibly anxious," he said. He recalled the moment he glanced at Patterson, who was sitting at the back of the courtroom while he took the witness box. "When I took the opportunity to sort of sneak a peek, it was visceral," Webster said. "I felt the intensity, the hostility and the negativity towards me through her glare. "It was a very intense gaze that we exchanged and I kind of looked away fairly quickly." Erin Patterson denied poisoning four of her in-laws, three of whom died. Photo: AFP / MARTIN KEEP Webster had worked at urgent care for eight years when Patterson presented on the Monday after the lunch. He said her actions whilst there set off alarm bells in his mind as she sat down "not far from Ian and Heather". "Erin sat in a chair and I don't even remember her looking in the direction of Ian and Heather Wilkinson - they weren't barriered, there were opened curtains on the cubicle." He said she lacked "any sort of expected normal human emotional response" to being in that situation. "When people come through the doors that I led Erin through, they usually make a beeline for their [loved one]. They go straight to that bed and they embrace the loved one," he said. "They usually cry or shake or respond in an emotive way and then they spin around and they try to find a nurse or a doctor to come over and explain what's going on to their loved one." During his evidence, Webster told the court he had informed Patterson that she would be given urgent medical treatment, but within minutes, and against medical advice, she left the building. CCTV footage showed another doctor, Veronica Foote, trying to stop Patterson from leaving but after signing a discharge form she is seen walking out. Webster told the jury he tried to contact Patterson three times after she had left the hospital and resorted to calling police with the hope officers could locate her and bring her back to hospital. That triple-0 phone call was played to the jury. He went on to tell the jury that he also held concerns for Patterson's children after she told him they had eaten beef Wellington leftovers. "Erin was reluctant to inform the children and I said it was important, and she was concerned they were going to be frightened," he told the court during the trial. "And I said, 'They can be scared and alive, or dead'." While Patterson disputed some of the testimony of medical staff including Webster, the prosecution would go on to argue it was part of a series of lies she told to cover up an act of murder. Now behind bars, Patterson's home in Leongatha sits empty and the frenzy that followed the case has simmered. "It's just a sad way to get recognition for a lovely town really," one of Patterson's neighbours said, who was "glad" the ordeal was over. - ABC
ABC News
08-07-2025
- ABC News
Doctor who treated Erin Patterson describes moment he came face-to-face with convicted murderer
While convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson sat in a Leongatha hospital just days after she had prepared and served a poisonous meal to her relatives, it was one word she said that led a doctor treating her to believe she was guilty. Chris Webster answered the Leongatha Hospital doorbell when Patterson first presented and quickly connected the 50-year-old to four other patients who had suspected mushroom poisoning. On Monday, a jury found Patterson guilty of murdering her parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson. She was also convicted of the attempted murder of Gail's husband, Ian Wilkinson, who fell gravely ill after the lunch but survived. Dr Webster, who gave evidence during the nine-week trial, said he grew suspicious of her almost immediately. "I explained that death cap mushroom poisoning was suspected and [asked] where'd you get the mushrooms," he said on Tuesday. According to him, she replied with a single word: "Woolworths." And it was in that moment that he said he came to the conclusion that Patterson had carried out a murderous act. "When she didn't respond in a way that instantly would have explained it as a tragic accident, that's it, from that moment in my mind she was guilty," he said. "She was evil and very smart to have planned it all and carried it out but didn't quite dot every 'i' and dot every 't'." Dr Webster said there was a lot to take in when he first walked into the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell. "You're terrified, you're incredibly anxious," he said. He recalled the moment he glanced at Patterson, who was sitting at the back of the courtroom while he took to the witness box. "When I took the opportunity to sort of sneak a peak, it was visceral," Dr Webster said. "I felt the intensity, the hostility and the negativity towards me through her glare. "It was a very intense gaze that we exchanged and I kind of looked away fairly quickly." Dr Webster had worked at urgent care for eight years when Patterson presented on the Monday after the lunch. He said her actions whilst there set off alarm bells in his mind as she sat down "not far from Ian and Heather". "Erin sat in a chair and I don't even remember her looking in the direction of Ian and Heather Wilkinson … they weren't barriered, there were opened curtains on the cubical," he said. He said she lacked "any sort of expected normal human emotional response" to being in that situation. "When people come through the doors that I led Erin through, they usually make a beeline for their [loved one]. They go straight to that bed and they embrace the loved one," he said. "They usually cry or shake or respond in an emotive way and then they spin around and they try to find a nurse or a doctor to come over and explain what's going on to their loved one." During his evidence, Dr Webster told to court he had informed Patterson that she would be given urgent medical treatment, but within minutes, and against medical advice, she left the building. CCTV footage showed another doctor, Veronica Foote, trying to stop Patterson from leaving but after signing a discharge form she is seen walking out. Dr Webster told the jury he tried to contact Patterson three times after she had left the hospital and resorted to calling police with the hope officers could locate her and bring her back to hospital. That triple-0 phone call was played to the jury. He went on to tell the jury that he also held concerns for Patterson's children after she had told him they had eaten beef Wellington leftovers. "Erin was reluctant to inform the children and I said it was important, and she was concerned they were going to be frightened," he told the court during the trial. "And I said, 'They can be scared and alive, or dead.'" While Patterson disputed some of the testimony of medical staff including Dr Webster, the prosecution would go on to argue it was part of a series of lies she told to cover up an act of murder. Now behind bars, Patterson's home in Leongatha sits empty and the frenzy that followed the case has simmered. "It's just a sad way to get recognition for a lovely town really," one of Patterson's neighbours said, who was "glad" the ordeal was over.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Los Angeles County, California, Selects Tyler Technologies' AI-Powered Solution to Modernize Its $40 Billion Budget
Most populous U.S. county to use Tyler's Priority Based Budgeting solution for data-driven budgeting PLANO, Texas, June 10, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: TYL) announced today it has signed an agreement with Los Angeles County, California, for Tyler's Priority Based Budgeting (PBB) solution under the county's Data Driven Budgeting initiative. Priority-based budgeting encourages a shift in the way resource allocation decisions are made, recentering the jurisdiction's options on the programs and services provided by removing limitations to traditional line-item budgeting. Los Angeles County is taking a bold step toward modernizing its budgeting process by aligning resources with the community's highest-priority outcomes. Through its partnership with Tyler and the Priority Based Budgeting solution, the county aims to maximize its budget to advance strategic priorities, enhance transparency for residents, and strengthen fiscal resilience. Tyler was evaluated, selected, and approved following a competitive process by the county. Tyler's artificial intelligence (AI)-powered PBB solution will ease the lift on staff to implement PBB and accelerate time-to-value for predictive analytics pointing to budget savings and revenue opportunities. Los Angeles County is the most populous county in the United States. With its implementation of PBB, it joins a growing number of governments across the country that are embracing data-driven decision-making, including Kansas City, Missouri. Recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association and the International City/County Management Association, this approach is reshaping how public resources are managed and optimized. Tyler's Priority Based Budgeting solution will provide tools for the county that could bring several important benefits to Los Angeles County, including: Maximizing limited resources. With a large annual budget and growing demands, the county strives to ensure funds are allocated to the most critical needs and to identify potential savings. Based on other implementations, PBB can provide options to redirect resources to higher priorities by finding efficiencies. Fiscal resilience and accountability. This outcome-focused approach is intended to lead to more responsible financial decisions, especially in times of economic uncertainty, by prioritizing effective programs and avoiding across-the-board cuts. Public transparency and trust. By making the budgeting process more open and showing how funds are allocated to community priorities, the county aims to build public trust. "Tyler brings deep expertise in public sector financial innovation and will ensure Los Angeles County benefits from best practices and cutting-edge AI solutions that have already helped local governments nationwide achieve greater fiscal strength," said Chris Webster, president of Tyler's ERP & Civic Division. "Priority Based Budgeting will enable data-driven decision-making, allowing the county to allocate resources more effectively to high-impact services." About Tyler Technologies, Inc. Tyler Technologies (NYSE: TYL) is a leading provider of integrated software and technology services for the public sector. Tyler's end-to-end solutions empower local, state, and federal government entities to operate efficiently and transparently with residents and each other. By connecting data and processes across disparate systems, Tyler's solutions transform how clients turn actionable insights into opportunities and solutions for their communities. Tyler has more than 45,000 successful installations across 13,000 locations, with clients in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, and other international locations. Tyler has been recognized numerous times for growth and innovation, including on Government Technology's GovTech 100 list. More information about Tyler Technologies, an S&P 500 company headquartered in Plano, Texas, can be found at #TYL_Financial View source version on Contacts Jennifer KeplerTyler Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
