Gold Coast to lose bright young doctor Dr Dinesh Palipana to Brisbane

One of the Gold Coast’s most celebrated young doctors is leaving the city after allegedly being told not to apply locally for the specialist area he wanted to work in.

ONE of the Gold Coast’s most celebrated young doctors is leaving the city after allegedly being told not to apply locally for the specialist area he wanted to work in — radiology.

Dr Dinesh Palipana, Queensland’s first quadriplegic medical intern, instead is being snapped up to train for radiology at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Dr Palipana was admitted as a doctor at Gold Coast University Hospital in 2017 after graduating in medicine, despite suffering spinal injuries in a car accident midway through his studies.

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Dinesh Palipana made headlines for overcoming his disability to receive an internship as a doctor at Gold Coast Hospital.

He was honoured this year with an Order of Australia Medal for his services to medicine, and last year awarded the Junior Doctor of the Year in Gold Coast Health. He is also an associate lecturer at Griffith Medical School.

Dr Palipana refused to comment, but the Gold Coast Bulletin spoke to several sources close to the issue.

It is understood Dr Palipana had planned to apply for a position as a radiology registrar at the

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Dinesh Palipana with his proud mother Anne Palipana. Picture: Jerad Williams.

Gold Coast University Hospital, but had been advised by senior staff not to preference the GCUH as part of his application to the The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) as he would not be chosen, given alleged concerns about his disability, including his ability to work late nights and type.

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However Dr Palipana has been offered a position as one of just a handful of aspiring radiologists to work at the PA Hospital in Brisbane and will be leaving in August.

This is not the first time Dr Palipana has faced challenges in his career.

Dinesh Palipana made headlines for overcoming his disability to receive an internship as a doctor at Gold Coast Hospital.

Despite being described as “one of the best interns to graduate”, Dr Palipana was the only graduate not to have been offered a position by Queensland Health.

He was later given a role after the Gold Coast Bulletin reported on the matter.

Dr Palipana is currently working full time doing shift work at the GCUH emergency department.

He is said to have no issue with the hours worked or his typing skills.

Young doctors who have been working in the hospital system for over two years need to apply to a college of their chosen speciality, for example surgery, ophthalmology, radiology or as a general practitioner.

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Dinesh Palipana made headlines for overcoming his disability to receive an internship as a doctor at Gold Coast Hospital.

The doctor must be accepted into a specialty training program run by a training college and train under the specialists in each hospital.

The hospital itself has no oversight of who is accepted into the training colleges. The decision is made by a panel of training directors.

It is understood Dr Palipana was also told by those close to the college that he would only be allowed on the local training program in an unpaid capacity.

Registrars are paid for their time as they are working in the capacity of a doctor.

In Dr Palipana’s letter to the hospital, obtained by the Bulletin, the 34-year-old said he was disappointed to leave the hospital that had been supportive of his journey.

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The Gold Coast University Hospital at Parkwood. Picture Mike Batterham

He outlined a number of circumstances that led to him leaving, including that he was advised by senior staff involved in the College of Radiology to preference the program at the hospital last.

“Unfortunately, there have been circumstances that the college of radiology, senior physicians and my colleagues have been aware of that made it impossible to preference this hospital over other radiology hubs that have been in contrast welcoming and supportive,” the letter read.

Dr Palipana wrote that he was told “the Gold Coast will not be able to have me as a trainee and advised me to move to the Royal Brisbane or Princess Alexandra hospitals, due to political reasons”.

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A spokesman for RANZCR said the college would not comment on specifics but could confirm it has provided advice and guidance.

“In every instance of communication RANZCR has been supportive of this candidate,’’ the spokesman said.

“RANZCR is delighted that this candidate has been successful in securing a trainee position.

“We will continue to offer the candidate full support, as will the training network in Queensland.”

Dr Jeremy Wellwood the Gold Coast Health Executive Director of Clinical Governance,

Education and Research, praised Dr Palipana and said he would be missed.

“Dinesh is a fine young doctor and it’s a massive feather in his cap to be accepted on this specialty program at such an early stage in his career,” Dr Wellwood said.

“Dinesh has gained many supporters and friends at Gold Coast Health, and that he recently received the health service’s 2018 Junior Doctor of the Year award indicates how valued he is among his colleagues.”