By Carla Jaeger
The minister responsible for the Transport Accident Commission, Danny Pearson, has said he had no idea one of Victoria’s largest public hospitals was investigating whether its surgeons had rorted the government-owned organisation.
Pearson’s admission comes after The Age revealed on Sunday that the state’s anti-corruption watchdog had launched a probe into a handful of surgeons at the Royal Melbourne Hospital over allegations they billed the TAC for medical procedures that were never carried out on patients.
A group of surgeons are under investigation over their billing at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.Credit: iStock
Pearson said he was unaware of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission investigation or the hospital’s internal probe – launched in 2021 – until he read this masthead’s report.
The TAC is funded by Victorian motorists to pay for the treatment of road accident victims, reimburses hospitals, surgeons and anaesthetists for each TAC patient they treat.
It is alleged that surgeons falsified operation reports and invoices sent to the TAC by including item numbers for procedures that weren’t carried out on TAC patients. This allowed surgeons to attract additional money.
“Complaints were not raised with me or the TAC,” Pearson said. He refused to answer questions about the alleged rort, claiming it was inappropriate for him to comment on an ongoing IBAC investigation.
“I would hazard a guess reports have been made to IBAC, and IBAC is investigating the matter.”
The claims, which also include allegations that surgeons fraudulently claimed lucrative “assistant surgeon” fees for operations they had minimal or no involvement in, also prompted an internal hospital investigation by law firm K&L Gates.
TAC Minister Danny Pearson on Sunday.Credit: Chris Hopkins
Opposition health spokesperson Georgie Crozier said it was concerning that Pearson was unaware of the allegations.
“I find that extraordinary, given he’s the responsible minister, and given that the TAC has known about this for years.
“These allegations were reported to the TAC years ago, reported to IBAC years ago, reported to the Royal Melbourne Hospital executive years ago.”
She said the alleged rort illustrated the ongoing chaos within the state’s health system, and called on the corruption watchdog to release its findings.
“My understanding is [IBAC] has told people [interviewed as part of the investigation] that they’re free to talk. We need to understand exactly how many people it involved, to the extent, and whether other hospitals or surgeons were implicated.
“The Allan Labor government must immediately act to clean this mess up and prevent any further rorting of the system.”
The TAC’s most recent annual report stated 14 prosecutions were finalised last financial year in relation to “fraudulent activities”, resulting in $484,124 in restitution payments awarded to the public insurer.
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