Jamestown vet Dr Geoffrey Hampton Warren faces permanent disqualification

Thousands rallied around him when he was suspended, but “atrocious” and “awful” conditions found at his surgery mean this SA vet might never practise again.

A vet at the centre of shocking allegations involving “awful”, “sickening” and “atrocious” conditions at his surgery has failed to face a tribunal hearing to determine his future.

Dr Geoffrey Hampton Warren was suspended in September due to a “serious risk” of endangering animal and human safety.

The South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal was told on Friday that Dr Warren should be disallowed from working as a vet again.

Dr Warren has been practising as a vet in the Jamestown region for around 40 years.

He did not attend Friday’s hearing claiming he was “10,000 miles away” out of the country visiting his dying son.

Supplied Editorial Country vet Geoffrey Warren had his veterinary registration suspended by the state's vet board. Picture: online

Crown solicitor for the SA vet board Sam Whitten said the conditions of Dr Warren’s Jamestown veterinary surgery were a “risk to both animals and humans”.

“The registrar asks that the tribunal not only reprimand Dr Warren and cancel his registration, but the tribunal goes further and permanently disqualifies him from registration,” he said.

“There’s every reason for a strong disciplinary sanction and a conclusion that he is not only not fit now to be registered, but that he will not be a fit person to hold that role at any time into the future.”

Mr Whitten said video and photos showed a build-up of faeces and used surgical utensils in a sink at Dr Warren’s surgery while kennelling facilities had no clean bedding and no access to water.

He said witnesses described the surgery as “awful”, “sickening”, “atrocious” and having an “overwhelming smell of urine”.

One witness said she was “ashamed of the state of the surgery” and that she had “never seen a surgical facility like that in nearly 40 years of practising”.

Mr Whitten said it was not his first indiscretion.

In 2013, Dr Warren was reprimanded by the veterinary board for a complaint highlighting “startling similarities”.

“Dr Warren has been down this road before,” Mr Whitten said.

“The fact this has occurred (before) in fact increases the risk it will occur again and provides little comfort that any claims he has now improved his conduct will be maintained into the future.”

Jamestown in the state's mid-north where Dr Warren operated his surgery. Picture: Google Earth

In an earlier hearing, Dr Warren submitted 2500 pages of witness materials.

A petition by members of the Jamestown and Peterborough community contained comments describing the vet as “a modern day St Francis of Assisi” and claimed he was being “targeted”.

The vet was mauled by a dog at his practice in 2018 causing him serious injuries including the loss of an ear. A fundraiser for him collected more than $32,000.

As well as the permanent ban, Mr Whitten sought a $20,000 payment to cover the legal costs of the vet board.

The tribunal has given Dr Warren 28 days to make submissions.

The hearing continues.