Disgraced doctor suspended over Bacchus Marsh Hospital maternity unit scandal

The doctor at the centre of the Bacchus Marsh Hospital baby death scandal has been suspended.

Dodgy doctor Surinder Parhar formerly of the Bacchus Marsh hospital. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

The disgraced former boss of the Bacchus Marsh and Melton Hospital maternity unit has been banned from working as a doctor over his role in a scandal stemming from a cluster of baby deaths.

Dr Surinder Parhar, 74, was on Monday handed a 12-year suspension after earlier this year admitting to professional misconduct stemming from his role in the “systemic dysfunction” at the Djerriwarrh Health Service.

Dr Parhar was the head of obstetrics at the service from 2008 to 2015, during which a review identified “catastrophic and unprecedented systemic governance failings” and a much higher rate of babies dying during low risk pregnancies than normal.

Seven baby deaths in 2013 and 2014 alone could have been prevented, an independent investigation concluded.

Bacchus Marsh and Melton Hospital.

Dr Surinder Parhar was the director of obstetrics at Bacchus Marsh hospital. Picture: Mark Stewart

The tribunal on Monday said Dr Parhar “shares responsibility, but does not bear sole responsibility, for what happened”.

“He failed to recognise that what was happening needed to be addressed, and that he had individual responsibility to do something,” the panel of three tribunal members said.

The tribunal has previously said there was a “systemic complacency and misguided self-congratulation about the quality of the maternity service” at the hospital, despite the high number of babies dying.

The tribunal said Dr Parhar was one of the medicos who was “blind to the pattern emerging” and said “alarm bells should have been ringing” about babies dying at the hospital.

Dr Surinder Parhar has been suspended for 12 years. Picture: Mark Stewart

The tribunal found Dr Parhar’s own performance as a doctor was sub-par, and that he was responsible for the “serious failures” to supervise junior doctors.

“What stands out are the years of missed opportunities to recognise and acknowledge what was going wrong, and act to prevent future avoidable death,” the tribunal found.

The 12-year disqualification aims to prevent Dr Parhar, who is retired, from ever working as a doctor again.

The tribunal found Dr Parhar did not effectively participate in systems of quality assurance and improvement.

The tribunal also said it was “inexcusable and well below any acceptable standard” that nine baby deaths were not formally investigated.

The tribunal said suspending Dr Parhar, even though he has been retired since 2015, sent a “clear message to the public and to the profession” that doctors who perform below the standards expected of them will be punished.

“If they engage in similar conduct, their time as a doctor is likely to end well before their retirement

Dr Parhar’s barrister, Ross Gillies QC, previously said his client “feels guilty, he is guilty, he doesn’t seek to deflect blame”.