Latest news with #medicalcouncil
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Dr Charlie Teo makes a disturbing admission about what happened to one of his patients after his surgery
Controversial neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo has admitted to leaving one of his patients paralysed in a scathing interview where he slammed his critics for 'persecuting' him. 'If you look at my CV, out of all the articles that I've published, many of them are on complications,' Dr Teo told Mets Analin in a podcast released on Tuesday. 'So I don't try and hide from my complications, I admit to them. I take it on the chin, it's my fault, you know that person is paralysed because I went too far. 'It wasn't intentional of course, but it was my fault, and I've published on that.' Dr Teo has continued to perform brain surgeries overseas, after a professional standards committee reprimanded him in 2023 for 'unsatisfactory professional conduct'. While Dr Teo is still registered to operate in Australia, he requires written support from a neurosurgeon approved by the Medical Council of NSW in order to practice, which none of his colleagues have been willing to provide. The finding concerned operations on two female patients at Prince of Wales Hospital in 2018 and 2019. Neither patient regained consciousness after the surgeries and both died - one of them just 10 days afterwards. The committee found that Dr Teo didn't exercise 'appropriate judgment' in operating on one of the patients, while with the other, he 'carried out surgery which was different to that proposed to the patient, and the surgical strategy led to unwarranted and excessive removal of normal functional brain'. Dr Teo had become 'isolated from his peers' and the conditions placed on him were 'necessary to protect the health and safety of the public', the committee said. Since the ruling, the surgeon has operated in countries including China, India, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Brazil, Peru and Nepal, and claimed many Australians are flying abroad for treatment. He has formally requested the restrictions be lifted, claiming that jealous surgeons are out to get him and he is the victim of a smear campaign. 'So here's a doctor who's got a worldwide reputation for being very honest with their presentations getting lambasted and getting persecuted for having complications,' he told Mr Analin in the Tuesday interview. 'Well hang on - I will be the first to admit that I have bad outcomes.' Mr Analin, Sydney gym owner and creator of the Elevate with Mets podcast, told Dr Teo he was a 'massive fan' of him because he had helped a close friend with treatment more than 20 years ago. In the wide-ranging interview Dr Teo, born in Australia to Singaporean parents, said he found neurosurgery daunting as a medical student because of its unforgiving nature. It was only later when he was thrust into the field that he decided he had found his calling. He described 'bullying from the medical fraternity' as his greatest challenge and insisted, 'I don't think I've done anything wrong'. 'Now, speak to the doctors and they think I've done a lot of things wrong, but all I've done, Mets you've just got to believe me, all I've done was care for my patients. 'These cases that my colleagues have called futile cases that I take on - well all of those people knew exactly what they were facing - they were facing death, certain death... Or a chance at living longer and maybe even being cured. '...My only crime is that I've given patients autonomy and I've taken on cases that everyone else says I shouldn't take on. Your friend's wife is exactly one of them.' He said he enjoyed brain surgery so much that it was a 'natural progression' to continue doing it in China after he was effectively banned from Australia. The interview divided Aussies, with some coming to Dr Teo's defence - arguing that his patients knew the risks of surgery - while others suggested he had preyed on distraught families. 'The guy told people with no hope of a cure he could help them only to leave them as vegetables for the rest of their short lives,' one said. 'He performed surgeries on people that other surgeons wouldn't do. Those people would have probably passed a lot sooner without surgery,' said another. 'Dr Teo is a genius! A massive loss for Australia if he is still prevented from operating,' said a third. 'He worked outside the scope and advice of his professional body,' a fourth said.
Free Malaysia Today
12-06-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Thai panel upholds suspension of doctors who helped Thaksin dodge jail
Thaksin Shinawatra remains a towering figure in Thai politics and is highly influential. (AFP pic) BANGKOK : Thailand's medical council on Thursday upheld its suspension of two doctors who enabled influential politician Thaksin Shinawatra to spend his prison sentence in hospital, a day ahead of the start of a Supreme Court case that could see him jailed. Thaksin, the driving force behind the current government, returned from 15 years of self-exile in 2023 to serve a prison term for abuse of power and conflicts of interest, but was sent to hospital after only a few hours in jail complaining of chest problems. The polarising billionaire, whose daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra is prime minister, stayed in a VIP wing of the hospital for six months until his release on parole without a single night in jail, prompting public outrage and deep scepticism about the extent of his ailments. 'More than two-thirds of the council voted to uphold the punishments,' medical council of Thailand vice president, Prasit Watanapa, told reporters. 'Members made the decision based on medical principles, evidence and reason.' The suspensions could impact a case at the Supreme Court that begins on Friday in which the legality of Thaksin's hospital stay has been challenged, with the possibility the tycoon could be made to serve that time again, in prison. Thaksin, 75, remains a towering figure in Thai politics and though he holds no formal government role, he is highly influential. His lawyer declined to comment on Thursday on the council's decision. The revival of the controversy over Thaksin's hospital stay comes at a challenging time for Paetongtarn's government, which is seeing its popularity dwindle amid a prolonged struggle to spur economic growth and domestic pressure to take a tougher stance on an ongoing border dispute with Cambodia. Thaksin's sentence was originally eight years, but it was commuted to a year by the king and he became eligible for parole after six months. The medical council's vote overrides a veto of its earlier decision by health minister Somsak Thapsutin, a Thaksin ally. The council had yet to confirm the duration of the suspension of the two doctors, who it found had issued documents that contained false medical information. They had denied wrongdoing and stood by their medical assessments. Another doctor with the corrections department received a warning for failing to meet medical standards in a referral notice for Thaksin.
CNA
08-05-2025
- Health
- CNA
Thailand suspends two doctors over ex-PM Thaksin hospital stay
BANGKOK: Thailand's Medical Council suspended two doctors on Thursday (May 8) over alleged ethical violations linked to treatment given to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra following his return from exile. Thaksin, 75, returned to Thailand in August 2023 after more than a decade overseas and was sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption and abuse of power upon arrival. However, he was transferred almost immediately from a detention centre to a private room in Bangkok's Police General Hospital for health reasons and never spent a night in a cell. His transfer, and the timing of his return, which coincided with his Pheu Thai party forming a new government, fuelled public suspicion of a backroom deal and allegations of special treatment. The Medical Council of Thailand said its ethics committee voted to suspend two doctors involved in issuing medical certificates for the ex-premier, citing discrepancies between their reports and his actual condition. "It is a consequence of a sub-par professional work," the Council's Vice President Prasit Watanapa told reporters after the meeting. He said that a third doctor who was involved in less "severe consequences" will receive a letter of warning. "It is indeed a very harsh punishment for any doctors," he added, without saying how long the suspensions would last. The disciplinary decision will be submitted to the Minister of Public Health for final approval. Thailand's Supreme Court announced last week it will investigate whether Thaksin's sentence was properly served, and has summoned hospital and prison officials for questioning. Thaksin, who had said he would retire from politics after returning, has remained active, campaigning in provincial elections for Pheu Thai and recently volunteering in informal trade discussions with the United States, according to Thai media. While Thaksin remains popular with his support base, he has long been disliked by Thailand's pro-royalist and military establishment.
