Neta Dunn claims abuse and poor care from Mackay Hospital Dr Daryl Stephens

Multiple patients have come forward with complaints about a Mackay doctor’s care and now a Mirani grandmother has stepped forward to tell her story.

A letter from suspended urologist Dr Daryl Stephens has revealed a troubling lack of care for a Mirani grandmother in his charge, referring to her case as a “waste of time” to a GP.

Dr Stephens has recently been suspended by Mackay Hospital and Health Service amid an investigation over hygiene concerns, but complaints about his conduct in Queensland date back years.

In 2018, medical authorities ruled the surgeon had engaged in professional misconduct at the most serious level and displayed “incompetence” in Western Australia over his treatment of a cancer patient.

But he was allowed to continue practising partly because of a shortage of specialists in North Queensland.

Neta Dunn is 49 years old and a grandmother. Picture: Duncan Evans

Patient Neta Dunn met with Dr Stephens for a check-up at Mackay Base Hospital on March 30, 2017 and in a letter to her GP the same day, viewed by this publication, Dr Stephens wrote dismissively about Mrs Dunn.

“Considering the nature of her renal lesion and the risks she is having in a cardiovascular fashion, it really is a waste of time for us to follow up,” he writes.

“She has all the excuses for continuing smoking and her husband pipes in with the ‘you could die being run over on the road’.

“This lady has six children and I do not think that she understands the gravity of her smoking habit.

“She really is running a very high risk and I would be surprised if she has a survival of more than 2-3 years.”

Mrs Dunn secured the letter through a Freedom of Information request and said she was inspired to take this action after Dr Stephens allegedly berated her and called her “pathetic” at the meeting for smoking.

At the time, Mrs Dunn said she was smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day.

“He (Dr Stephens) said ‘My father died when I was 14 years old and I never got out of that. Get the hell out of my room I don’t want to see you again’,” she alleged.

“That I was pathetic.”

Mrs Dunn was joined at the meeting with her husband and then 14-year-old son Jett.

She also claims when Dr Stephens examined a staph on her lung, he “giggled”.

“He giggled about it, he said he had seen it many times,” she recounts.

“‘How long do I want to live for?’ he said. I said give me 20 years. He said ‘not a chance. I’ll give you two-three years.’”

“He said that in front of my son.”

Mrs Dunn first met Dr Stephens in 2015 after she was diagnosed with kidney cancer.

Dr Daryl Stephens.

He operated on her and the operation was a success.

Mrs Dunn says Dr Stephens’ behaviour at the meeting had a negative impact on Jett’s mental health.

“He was doing really well at school and he just went down,” she said.

“I tried getting him help, I was talking to people, doctors, everything about Jett.

“It just impacted him at the time, being told his mother is going to die.”

Mrs Dunn said the meeting also affected her.

“For me, it is emotional, because I am a grandmother,” she said.

“To be told you have two-three years minimum just like that, it was like wow, I am counting my years.

“I am literally counting my years.”

Neta Dunn first met Dr Daryl Stephens in 2015 when she was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Picture: Duncan Evans

Mrs Dunn lodged a complaint with Mackay HHS on April 3 and received a response on May 31.

“Dr Stephens does not recall using inappropriate language during your conversation and has advised that his comments were not intended to be rude and certainly did not wish to have an impact on your son,” a Mackay HHS representative wrote.

“He had anticipated that having such an honest conversation may be a positive catalyst with regard to lifestyle choices.”

Mrs Dunn said she now smokes about five cigarettes a day.

This week, Mackay HHS Interim chief executive Paula Foley offered an apology to Mrs Dunn for the “poor experience” she had at the hospital.

“Every patient and their loved ones should feel respected when they receive care and this was not her experience,” he said.

“Mackay HHS is focusing on improving communication, listening to our patients and ensuring they are part of the decision making in their care.”

Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm said this week she had been contacted by past patients of Dr Stephens who had come forward with their own allegations of misconduct.

“Those patients in some cases were turned away and dismissed when they made complaints through the complaints process,” she said.

Dr Stephens declined to comment on the matters.

Originally published as Neta Dunn claims abuse and poor care from Mackay Hospital Dr Daryl Stephens