Timothy Blake guilty of drug stash, but will fight to return to hospital job

A Top End doctor who treated patients with meth in his system and was busted with commercial quantities of ketamine will fight to keep his medical licence.

A TOP End doctor who treated patients with meth in his system and was busted with commercial quantities of ketamine will fight to keep his medical licence.

Timothy James Blake, 39, pleaded guilty to five counts of drug possession, including ketamine, methamphetamines, amphetamines, and cocaine, at the Darwin Supreme Court on Tuesday.

The court heard the well-respected Gove District Hospital senior doctor trawled the dark web to set up methamphetamine deliveries to the Nhulunbuy post office.

A police raid of the business in December 2020 discovered four parcels containing a total of 7.96g of methamphetamines, including one delivery disguised in a Tom Yum instant soup packet.

Rather than seize the illegal packages, officers lay in wait for their owner.

The senior doctor was arrested immediately after picking up the parcels on Friday December 18, with officers finding a 0.25g bag of mixed methamphetamine and prescription medication in his jeans.

Despite being fresh off a hospital shift, Blake admitted to using methamphetamines before work and produced a positive drug test.

Gove District Hospital senior doctor Timothy James Blake.

A raid of his Yirrkala home uncovered cocaine in his bedside table, mixed methamphetamines and amphetamines hidden in a false can in a cooler bag, MDMA as well as various pills and prescription pads.

Police also seized three different batches of ketamine cut with other drugs, totalling 6.57g – nearly 66 times the commercial quantity threshold.

Defence barrister Jon Tippett QC said Blake started using the drugs to self medicate his undiagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Mr Tippett said this was not unheard of among medical professionals, saying his client had joined a substance abuse program specifically for doctors. He said Blake’s substance abuse and ADHD symptoms flew under the radar, with the senior doctor able to manage the high pressure life-and-death environment despite the “dishevelment of his existence”.

“Once he walks into that hospital he is basically a different person in terms of focus,” Mr Tippett said.

Doctors, nurses and specialists were among the 15 glowing character references for the rural health professional.

Blake’s medical licence was suspended, but Mr Tippet said he would make an application to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to return to work.

“He’s a damn good doctor and frankly as we all know we all need good medical personnel,” Mr Tippett said.

On Tuesday, Blake was given a suspended sentence of 12 months in prison, which will remain for two years.