Sydney woman travelled to Gold Coast for breast lift during COVID restrictions

Police had to escort an angry woman from a Queensland hospital after eagle-eyed staff realised she’d travelled from a COVID-19 hotspot for a face and breast lift.

Police had to escort an angry interstate patient from a Gold Coast hospital after she allegedly used a fraudulent medical exemption to try to have breast surgery during Queensland’s latest border blockade.

The incident, revealed by a concerned whistleblower, sparked a major COVID-19 scare at John Flynn Private Hospital at Tugun.

Sources said the woman flew to Coolangatta from Sydney on January 12 and took a taxi to John Flynn for a face and breast lift.

She was being taken to theatre for the surgery when an eagle-eyed orderly noticed her chart stating that she was from Sydney, which was then a declared COVID-19 hotspot.

A source said staff raised serious safety concerns but a senior nurse ordered the operation to go ahead.

It was only when staff escalated their concerns that the surgery was halted at the last minute, the source said.

More than a dozen staff and patients had to undergo COVID tests as a result, and police were called to escort the angry woman from the hospital.

“It was an extremely close call – if the surgery had gone ahead, it could have exposed the entire theatre staff,” the source said.

“You just don’t get a medical exemption to cross the border for cosmetic surgery. It should have rung alarm bells.

“The woman should never have been allowed to leave the airport, let alone take a taxi to the hospital for a breast lift and facelift.

“John Flynn is supposed to be a ‘clean’ hospital and remain COVID-free.”

A spokeswoman for John Flynn, which is owned by private hospital giant Ramsay Health, said it was “aware of a patient who was due to undergo a non-essential procedure in January”.

“This person had spent time in Sydney, which was a declared COVID-19 hotspot at the time,” she said.

“The safety and wellbeing of all our patients and health care workers are our highest priority so this non-essential surgery was unfortunately unable to proceed as planned.

“Before arriving at the hospital, the patient had undergone COVID-19 testing and returned a negative result.

“We have since reviewed our administration procedures relating to patients who have been to declared hot spots and have apologised to this patient for inconvenience caused.”