Medical Board of Australia investigation uncovers professional misconduct by David Conron

David Conron, a veteran GP who served communities in Gisborne and Winchelsea, has been forced to retire for “lazy and sloppy practice”.

Veteran GP David Conron, 84, has been forced to retire after 57 years of service in Gisborne and Winchelsea.

A veteran GP has been forced to retire for “lazy and sloppy practice”, treating himself for 11 years and providing “substandard” treatment to patients.

David Conron, who served communities in Gisborne and Winchelsea for 57 years, surrendered his registration in July 2019 — just shy of his 81st birthday — after fellow doctors complained about his standard of care.

A Medical Board of Australia investigation uncovered professional misconduct by Dr Conron, who had self-prescribed medication 106 times and requested five medical investigations, including pathology and imaging requests, for himself between June 2008 and April 2019.

He had also been treating a close family member in violation of the standards and codes of conduct for registered medical practitioners.

The inquiry also revealed Dr Conron:

FAILED to maintain accurate, up-to-date and legible medical records;

REFUSED to give a pregnant patient a routine whooping cough Boostrix immunisation without clinical reasons;

DID not conduct the necessary examinations or request a further urgent ultrasound on a patient who presented with serious deep vein thrombosis symptoms. She ended up in ICU within a week of the consultation; and

PRESCRIBED Endone and Targin pain killers to a patient three times without obtaining a permit, as required, from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The board’s inquiry found Dr Conron had struggled with adapting to the changes in the medical field over his later years in practice.

He was used to taking handwritten notes and found computerised note-taking systems difficult to navigate.

The experienced doctor had also not kept up with continuing professional development, noting he was not aware the guidelines had changed up to two years earlier and now recommended women in their third trimester have the Boostrix vaccine.

Dr Conron accepted he should have recommended another ultrasound in one or two days for the patient with a clot, and could have advised her to take aspirin or use a compression stocking.

He labelled his conduct in treating himself and a family member as “unprofessional”.

Dr Conron said he had tried to ensure she received independent and objective advice from other doctors.

“My involvement in (her) care probably reflected what was ordinary practice when I became a doctor,” he said.

“But I agree that times have changed and that I could have done all of this differently.”

The medical board brought disciplinary proceedings before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, seeking Dr Conron be reprimanded with a three-month disqualification.

But tribunal senior member Jonathan Smithers, alongside members Peter McNeill and Roderick McRae, this month ruled against any further punishment, citing Dr Conron had already relinquished his registration and was unlikely to practice again.

They considered testimonials from two other medical practitioners who vouched for his good character, and his devotion to his patients’ health and wellbeing.

The tribunal members said Dr Conron’s case highlighted the need for older practitioners, and those around them, to consider the question of when to retire from active medical practice.

“It is an illustration of the difficulties which older medical practitioners can encounter in continuing to practise competently, and in continuously adapting and upskilling in order to keep abreast with expected professional standards, regulatory requirements and changing technology,” the ruling stated.