Dr Amira Mahboub sanctioned by Medical Board after walking out of Port Pirie Hospital over ‘dangerous’ conditions

A relief doctor saw one patient at a regional SA hospital and walked out an hour into her four-day shift, claiming it was “dangerous” – now she’s been sanctioned.

Port Pirie Hospital. Picture: Supplied

A relief doctor who saw one patient at a regional hospital and walked out saying “this place should not be a hospital” has lost an appeal after being sanctioned by the Australian Medical Board.

Dr Amira Mahboub accepted a locum contract at Port Pirie Regional Health Service in 2023 but left within the hour after failing to notify the head of patient services.

She then emailed the Health Minister saying the hospital was “too dangerous a place for her to work” and “so understaffed that it was dangerous”, the SA Civil and Administrative Tribunal said.

The board called her conduct “unsatisfactory and unprofessional” and imposed a mentoring condition, which she appealed in the tribunal – but lost.

Dr Mahboub was rostered to work between January 28 and February 1 at Port Pirie, telling the tribunal she accepted on the basis a junior doctor would support her.

On her first day, there was no junior medical support or handover provided. An experienced ward nurse answered her questions. Dr Mahboub assessed a patient admitted for pneumonia, but believed they had been misdiagnosed and was taking antibiotics “needlessly”.

Dr Mahboub told the tribunal the patient was taking the highest prescribed dose of anti-anxiety medication she’d seen “in my entire career”.

The Port Pirie Regional Health Service. Picture Dean Martin

She told the patient she’d likely had a panic attack – not pneumonia – and should see a GP for a mental health plan. 

“I formed the view my position as an on-call physician in this hospital was so problematic as to be pointless for the patients and would put me in an impossible position,” she said. 

She said she could not “completely reassess and reverse the treatment plans” for patients in four days, without a junior doctor or handover, and feared she would “provide unsafe care to vulnerable patients” without important details.

“It would be unsafe for me to continue their current and planned treatment if I could not understand the justification for it,” she said. “I felt it was a very unsafe environment.”

Before leaving, Dr Mahboub informed the nurse manager, who assured her she would tell the “relevant person”, and contacted her locum agency. 

The tribunal said on January 30, 2023, Ms Murdock - for the Yorke and Northern Local Health Network - notified the medical board, accusing Dr Mahboub of leaving without contacting the appropriate manager or executive or ensuring there was enough medical cover.

“Dr Mahboub came to the ward, saw one patient on the ward round and then left telling staff, ‘this place should not be a hospital’,” Ms Murdock said in the tribunal ruling. 

SA Health said the level of staffing at the Port Pirie hospital was well-known to the locum agency, which had previously supplied doctors for that role.

“Dr Mahboub did not contact any member of the Yorke and Northern Local Health Network Executive to inform she was leaving her position, therefore leaving ward patients without care arrangements,” it said.

The tribunal said Dr Mahboub’s absence compromised patient care, resulted in a “one-third reduction” of available medical officers to cover the ED and wards and “compromised ... medical services”. 

Originally published as Dr Amira Mahboub sanctioned by Medical Board after walking out of Port Pirie Hospital over ‘dangerous’ conditions