Man seeks answers over St John of God surgery and medical records

A man has taken a Ballarat hospital to VCAT for accurate medical records related to a surgery done more than a decade ago.

St John of God Hospital in Ballarat has been taken to VCAT by a man seeking over a surgery done on a relative more than a decade ago. Photo: Chloe Smith

A man from the state’s west has taken a Ballarat hospital to tribunal in a search for answers following what he considers the mistreatment of a relative during a surgery — although the hospital calls his claims “fanciful and baseless”.

The man, who legally cannot be named, appeared in VCAT on Tuesday after being granted access to documents about his relative’s surgery at St John of God Hospital in 2012.

He sought the records in the belief that mistakes were made during the operation that were afterwards covered up.

He believed a tool, understood to be a morcellator, was used to remove a tumour when it should not have been.

He said he was billed for actions surgeons did not really take and that documents said, for example, that a surgical tool was actually put into his relative’s body rather than just used during the operation.

The man said he even had tests done by US health services to try to get answers.

He said he wanted honesty, compassion, and closure from St John of God, not financial compensation.

“St John of God gave us none of that,” he said in tears.

“They will lie to save $10.

“ … This should not happen to another Victorian or another Australian.”

The court heard St John of God could do “literally nothing else” about the man’s application, having allowed him to see medical records and explanations of those records.

But the man insisted the records were not probably those of his relative’s, containing no identifying information and showing inconsistencies in comparison to what other experts advised him had probably occurred during the 2012 surgery.

Given presiding tribunal member deputy president G. Nihill could only deal with the application at hand – namely the one about access to documents – the dispute left parties unclear as to how to proceed.

St John of God’s lawyer said the application had been fulfilled, but the complainant was less certain given he did not believe the records were accurate.

A spokeswoman for the hospital said outside the tribunal that the complainant’s allegations were first made 11 years ago and had been “agitated by the complainant periodically over that time”.

“St John of God Ballarat Hospital’s position has always been that the allegations are completely without substance,” she said.

“Whilst the hospital acknowledges that the relevant records contain some minor errors of an administrative nature, for which the hospital has apologised, there was no impact upon safe patient care, which was appropriate and the relevant surgery was undertaken by specialist consultants.

“The hospital completely rejects the complainant’s allegations as fanciful and baseless.”

The matter was adjourned for two months, during which time the complainant may withdraw his application or St John of God can apply to have it dismissed.

In the meantime, the complainant may take up his broader grievances with the Health Complaints Commissioner to potentially have those dealt with separately.