Latest news with #malpractice
ABC News
6 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Growing number of scammers stealing superannuation
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority has received more than 100,000 complains in the last year about malpractice in the finance industry.
The Independent
08-07-2025
- The Independent
Man charged with fraud relating to malpractice at borough council
A man has been charged with fraud after a police investigation into malpractice at a borough council in Greater Manchester. Richard Shaw, 45, has been charged with fraud by abuse of position after the 'comprehensive' probe into Bolton Council, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said. The offences are alleged to have been committed over eight years between February 2015 and April 2023. Bolton Council has been a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority since 2011. Detective sergeant Daniel Sanchez said: 'We have worked carefully through all information and evidence, from which we have now secured a charge. 'Our team have remained in close contact with the local authority, who have assisted us throughout this process. 'As this case moves to a next level of proceedings, we continue to work with all appropriate partners and the CPS.' Shaw, of Harrier Close, Bolton, will appear in court at an as yet unconfirmed later date.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man charged with fraud relating to malpractice at borough council
A man has been charged with fraud after a police investigation into malpractice at a borough council in Greater Manchester. Richard Shaw, 45, has been charged with fraud by abuse of position after the 'comprehensive' probe into Bolton Council, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said. The offences are alleged to have been committed over eight years between February 2015 and April 2023. Bolton Council has been a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority since 2011. Detective sergeant Daniel Sanchez said: 'We have worked carefully through all information and evidence, from which we have now secured a charge. 'Our team have remained in close contact with the local authority, who have assisted us throughout this process. 'As this case moves to a next level of proceedings, we continue to work with all appropriate partners and the CPS.' Shaw, of Harrier Close, Bolton, will appear in court at an as yet unconfirmed later date.
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Tilsworth vet struck off for dishonesty and inadequate care
A vet who came out of retirement to practise as a locum has been struck off after a regulatory body found a series of professional Loong Ng, 73, was found by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) to have breached standards in more than 50 instances dating back to 2020 while working at the former Little Pets practice, in Tilsworth, the findings, the college found Mr Ng had altered or deleted records, misdiagnosed conditions and used inappropriate techniques during caesarean section said Mr Ng's behaviour was "fundamentally incompatible with being a veterinary surgeon" and his removal was "necessary to ensure the protection of animals". Mr Ng has 28 days to appeal but can still practise during that time. One of the most serious cases involved a Labradoodle named Barney, whose owner, Michelle Chambers, sought help in May 2021 for its recurring stomach issues and poor RCVS said Mr Ng initially diagnosed diabetes and recommended dietary changes, but later prescribed Dexafort, a drug unsuitable for diabetic Barney's condition worsened, Mr Ng suggested he might have cancer and implied euthanasia was the best Chambers said: "When I presented him to the vet, he was very disinterested. He said, 'I think he's got cancer'. I asked about scans and he said, 'I can just tell by looking at him. It's not worth it'."However, after taking Barney home for the weekend, Ms Chambers noticed improvement and cancelled the euthanasia appointment. Further tests arranged with another vet confirmed diabetes but not cancer - and he went on to live for another four years with the right treatment. Mr Ng later amended Barney's clinical records without noting the changes were retrospective - an act the RCVS found "dishonest and misleading".RCVS disciplinary committee chair Paul Morris said: "The alteration presented a false account of the owner's attitude towards immediate therapeutic intervention."Conduct of this kind was liable to damage trust in the profession." 'Protect the public' The hearing on 19 June took accounts from eight witnesses, including veterinary colleagues, staff, and pet newly qualified vet said she was inexperienced when she joined in 2021 and had learned a lot from Mr said the nursing assistants were not qualified but seemed capable. Mr Ng had come out of retirement in 2020 to work as a locum at The Little Pets, a practice owned by a relative. After a financial dispute the practice closed - but has reopened independently under a new Veterinary Clinic said it had "no association whatsoever" with Little Pets, and that "no criticism from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has been directed at any of our staff, who continue to work hard to help our patients and clients."In a statement, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons said: "Unlike other professional regulators, the Committees of the RCVS do not have the legal power to suspend or impose conditions on the licence to practise of veterinary surgeons or veterinary nurses."We are currently lobbying the government to introduce this power in a new Veterinary Surgeons Act, and we recognise it is necessary to protect the public and the health and welfare of animals," it added. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Guardian
09-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
John Oliver on the unregulated business of med spas: ‘People are going to get hurt'
John Oliver looked into the booming industry of med spas in the US on the latest Last Week Tonight. 'You're probably at least familiar with them,' he explained of the facilities, either because you've seen one pop up in your neighborhood, or you've been pushed by one of thousands of influencer videos about them.' 'Med spa' is a catch-all term for a facility that provides aesthetic procedures, both medical (lasers, Botox and IV drips) and non-medical (facials). In the age of Instagram, it's a lucrative business, with an estimated 10,000 or more med spas nationwide, generating $17bn annually. But 'while many med spas are safe and staffed by actual professionals', said Oliver, 'the rapid rise of med spas has also been accompanied a rapid rise' in stories of malpractice or procedures gone awry. That's because 'this whole industry can fall into a regulatory gray area,' as many of their procedures fall between esthetic services and traditional medical practice. 'Other services definitely fall under the practice of medicine, but no one – from practitioners, to customers, to law enforcement – acts like it,' said Oliver. There are currently no federal standards for med spas, and no legal definition for what one even is. 'And that has left the market wide open for bad actors,' Oliver explained, calling med spas the 'wild west' of medicine. 'If an industry can grow this fast and be run this loosely, people are going to get hurt,' he added. Oliver dissected the 'perfect storm' of factors for this wild west, starting with many med spas' franchising model, with all-cash businesses that can be opened anywhere. 'It's not exactly reassuring to hear a medical facility being pitched the same way you'd pitch a Subway sandwich shop,' he joked. 'I know both technically involve getting suspicious-looking goo inside you, but through vastly different delivery systems.' The regulatory frameworks also vary wildly by state. In New Jersey, only a doctor can perform laser hair removal, while anyone can in New York. In Texas, anyone can get certified to become an injector, and practice anywhere in the state. The laws are so behind the reality of med spas in Oklahoma that the state advises nurses to use their own professional judgment to determine what procedures they can provide based on the relevant laws. 'Which feels like they're one step away from just telling nurses to ask a Magic 8 Ball, 'am I allowed to give this woman chin filler?'' Oliver quipped. 'What this means is from the services they sell to the people they employ to the stuff they inject into you, med spas can be far less vigorously vetted than you may assume,' he noted. Some med spa procedures, such as facials, have scientific backing, while others – such as 'ionic foot detox bath' or 'ultraviolet blood irradiation' – do not. Some med spas also provide procedures like 'sculptsure' via devices that are FDA 'cleared'. As Oliver already covered in an episode on medical devices, FDA cleared 'doesn't really mean shit'. FDA approval means the device is both safe and backed by 'valid scientific evidence', while cleared simply means that it can be legally marketed. 'Which is barely one step above an FDA stamp declaring 'this exists!'' Oliver joked. 'Ideally, you'd have a doctor talk you through the risks and benefits of any sort of procedure on offer,' he continued, 'but that's not possible at many med spas.' While they are required to be supervised by a medical professional with 'full practice authority', that supervision can be done remotely, sometimes from professionals located hours away. Most of the staff in med spas are nurse practitioners, physician assistants and registered nurses. 'Nothing against people who hold those jobs – they can be extremely skilled,' Oliver noted. 'But their training on the procedures done in med spas can be thin at best,' as there are very few dermatology programs for non-doctors. Oliver cited one service that claimed to allow someone to inject Botox after just a day of training, 'which really does not feel like enough training to shoot a paralyzing neurotoxin into someone's face'. Especially one that could have deadly side-effects, as was the case with one central Texas woman who had a seizure after being injected with Botox by someone with non-medical certification; the med spa's protocol for emergencies was to call their supervising physician, a pediatrician located a three-hour drive away. 'A lot of the protections you associate with medical offices just don't apply to med spas,' Oliver summarized. 'Oversight can be incredibly lax,' as most states don't even require that med spas register their existence. In sum, Oliver said, med spas can cut corners both on their staffing and the contents of their injectables, and the market is rife with counterfeits. He referenced the story of one influencer who went to a med spa for B12 shots, got upsold 'fat dissolving' injectables, and ended up in the hospital for four months with a necrotizing, antibiotic-resistant skin infection. Her lawsuit against the practitioner, who injected her with a substance bought off Alibaba, hit a dead end, as he was unlicensed and had no malpractice insurance nor assets. 'The lack of accountability is honestly not that surprising,' said Oliver. 'If you're injured at an unlicensed med spa, there's often little to no recourse unless law enforcement takes an interest in your case.' And while it's easy to judge those that seek out the procedures, Oliver noted that 'it's both reasonable to want these services and to expect the people providing them to be licensed and adequately supervised. But far too often, they just aren't.' What can be done? 'Bare minimum, state laws and regulation should be clearly written, well publicized and enforced,' Oliver said. But 'laws can only do so much when they're ignored, and when demand is this high, and there is such a clear profit motive, there is always going to be the possibility that sketchy providers will break the rules.' He encouraged people to look up the names and credentials of any provider, get a full consultation and see the vials of any injectables before receiving them. 'And if they respond by acting defensively or won't show them to you, get the fuck out of there,' he concluded, because 'in too many places, it is far too easy to set up something that has all the appearances of medicine, but none of the protections.'
