Dr John Barry Myers: VCAT decision refuses disgraced Melbourne doctor’s registration bid

A disgraced doctor, who repeatedly groped a woman and allegedly assaulted a “deeply vulnerable” psychiatric patient, has launched a bizarre appeal against his medical ban.

The tribunal ruled against Dr Myers. Generic image.

A Melbourne doctor who was disqualified in two state jurisdictions, once for allegedly assaulting a “deeply vulnerable” psychiatric patient and asking her to “suck his c--k”, has failed in his bid to overturn his medical ban.

VCAT quashed John Barry Myers’ bid to re-register as a medical practitioner, ruling the former doctor was not a “fit and proper person” and cancelling his licence was needed to “protect the public”.

According to the tribunal, Dr Myers, who last practiced in June 2012, had “not proven” he was a changed person and there was a “real risk … he would return to his longstanding pattern of unacceptable dealings with patients”.

Dr John Barry Myers failed in his bid to re-register.

The tribunal also said there was “a concern” surrounding whether Dr Myers would sexually assault patients.

“Given Dr Myers’ age and his lack of insight and professional qualifications, this decision will probably deny him forever the chance of redemption and rehabilitation,” the decision read.

“However, he has provided no basis to afford him a second chance.”

Dr John Barry Myers pictured here in 2014.

Dr Myers, who has previously run for a seat on Glen Eira Council, as a candidate for Caulfield in the state election and, in 2016, for federal office as an independent candidate for Melbourne Ports, has faced a litany of complaints and allegations over the course of his career.

He has been barred from practising in both Western Australia and Victoria.

In 2000, Dr Myers pleaded guilty to indecent assault after he repeatedly squeezed the breasts of a woman working at a car dealership where he was purchasing a car.

In court at the time, he attempted to explain his actions by saying he was just “trying to express empathy” and was looking “to comfort her as one might play with the puppy”.

He was fined $1500 for the offence and escaped without a conviction.

In 2013, VCAT deregistered Dr Myers after he engaged in a series of “entirely inappropriate” boundary transgressions with a patient who had a complex psychiatric history.

At the time, theHerald Sunreported Dr Myers made unrequested late night house calls to the woman’s home up to 43 times in three months.

The woman became infatuated with Dr Myers and sent him more than 300 pages of poems and letters, tapes of love songs and other gifts.

She also claimed she was suffering “Stockholm syndrome” due to his treatment of her.

In 2015, Dr Myers was fined $10,000 and disqualified from practising in Western Australia for five years after he was accused of indecently assaulting and making sexually inappropriate statements to a psychiatric patient.

On one occasion, Dr Myers was alleged to have entered her room, shut the door behind him and groped her breasts.

He was also accused of saying words to the effect of “he wanted her to suck his c**k” and “he wanted to put his c**k between her breasts”.

Dr Myers has denied these allegations.

Dr John Barry Myers (right, with beard) at a previous appearance before VCAT.

In their recent decision, the tribunal described Dr Myers as not only lacking “insight and remorse into his past conduct. He appears to see nothing wrong in his previous behaviour.”

“It appears that he considers himself a flawless health practitioner. He refers to himself as a ‘pioneer’, as an ‘expert’, and as a ‘leader in the field’,” the decision read.

The tribunal also described Dr Myers’ submissions as being “difficult to understand and frequently not relevant, and chaotic in format”.

Once when addressing the tribunal about the time since he had last practised, Dr Myers described himself as “already ahead of the game”.

The former doctor continued: “When the royal commission wasn’t here and they were in the dark ages, Dr Myers wasn’t in the dark ages. They’re only catching up to me. They haven’t even caught up to me yet.”

Dr Myers bizarrely also referenced Gaza when describing his efforts to keep patients at home.

“(This) case needs to be the beginning of, the foundation stone,” he told the tribunal.

“Even if it’s just a pebble, to make sure that we do not go back into those tunnels of Gaza that were the same thing that people and elderly were subjected to.”

He described himself as having saved the lives not only of his patients, but of their children.

“This is my testament and this is what I say needs to be done and this is what was not done and to say that I can’t tell you how much my patients suffered, how much my patients needed me and without me, they were killed or they were allowed to die or they suffered or they took overdoses, except when I was there,” he said.

“And then I saved their children and then I did anything and everything that you wouldn’t think one person could actually achieve. That’s where I stand.”