Restrictions already on vaccine bungle doctor

The doctor at the centre of the vaccine dosing bungle in Brisbane had previously been sanctioned by the national health regulator.

Nationwide, more than 23,000 people have so far received COVID-19 vaccinations. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

The doctor at the centre of the vaccine dosing bungle at a Brisbane aged-care centre had previously been sanctioned by the national health regulator over the inappropriate prescription of medicinal cannabis.

Sujoy Roychowdhury, who holds a medical degree from the University of Tasmania, had conditions placed on his licence by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency after complaints over his practice.

Dr Roychowdhury was barred from possessing, supplying, prescribing or administering any natural or synthetic medicine cannabis products and was required to be supervised at any practice that employed him.

A senior practice manager or other senior representative overseeing Dr Roychowdhury’s practice was required to submit monthly reports to the regulator certifying that the doctor was complying with the restrictions.

Dr Roychowdhury was employed by Healthcare Australia, which has a contract to administer COVID-19 vaccinations in aged-care centres in NSW and Queensland. On Wednesday, he dosed two elderly residents, aged 88 and 94, with four times the correct dosage of Pfizer vaccine. The patients suffered no ill effects.

Healthcare Australia said it was aware of the conditions on Dr Roychowdhury’s licence but they did not prevent him administering vaccines. “The doctor involved in the nursing home incident is a registered medical practitioner on the APHRA register and there were no conditions of the doctor’s registration which prevented him ­administering vaccinations,” a spokesperson for Healthcare Australia said. “The doctor is not ­actively working at Healthcare Australia.”

Revelations about the conditions placed on the doctor’s ­licence came as up to 150 doses of Pfizer vaccine had to be discarded at a Melbourne aged-care centre over concerns they had not been kept refrigerated at the required temperature.

The rollout of vaccine to aged-care centres has also been hit by significant delays, which Health Minister Greg Hunt on Friday blamed on Healthcare Australia.

“What happened here, exactly the same company, exactly the same people, once they were put under intense scrutiny about their safety and protocols, they decided to scale back and slow down,” Mr Hunt said.

Scott Morrison has pledged to smooth first-week glitches in the national vaccine rollout.

Operators of aged-care centres are becoming increasingly frustrated with delays in the rollout, with many planned vaccinations cancelled at the last-minute.

There were to have been 30,000 inoculations in aged-care centres across the country this week, but the number of doses ­administered is well below that figure. Vaccinations have been rolled out in 90 aged-care centres, well short of the 240 that were to have been involved.

The Prime Minister said on Friday the government would learn from the first week, and families of aged-care patients still awaiting jabs should not panic.

“Where issues arise, they are quickly dealt with, they’re identified, they’re worked through. You’d expect that with any vaccination program of this scale,” he said in Penrith.

“We’re in day four of a nine-month program, and each day as that rolls out, it’ll continue to improve. We said it would start slow and it would get to a pace and a scale, and that’s exactly where we’re heading.”

Healthcare Australia originally told the federal health department that Dr Roychowdhury had undergone mandatory training in administering COVID-19 vaccines and that is had sighted his certificate, but on further investigation the department discovered that this was false.

Healthcare Australia has been placed on notice by the federal government that it will have its contract terminated if it commits any further breaches. Its chief executive, Jason Cartright, has stood aside from his position while an investigation is carried out into how the dosing occurred, as well as how the government came to be given false information.

Meanwhile, the health department confirmed that 25 vials of Pfizer vaccine had to be discarded at the Melbourne aged-care centre.

Aspen Medical, which has a contract to administer COVID-19 vaccines in such centres, reported it had been storing 25 surplus vials of vaccine in a refrigerator at a Werribee nursing home, but was unsure whether the vials were still good to use.

The health department said it could not be sure that the 25 vials, which contain about six doses each, were maintained at the ­required temperature. The Pfizer vaccine can be stored in a refrigerator at 2C-8C for up to five days.

“While refrigeration was maintained it was not possible to verify that temperature was maintained throughout,” the department said.

“Therefore, out of an abundance of caution, a medical decision was made not to use the remaining vials.”

Nationwide, more than 23,000 people have so far received COVID-19 vaccinations.

Revelations about the conditions placed on the doctor’s ­licence came as up to 150 doses of Pfizer vaccine had to be discarded at a Melbourne aged-care centre over concerns they had not been kept refrigerated at the required temperature.