Scandal-ridden Launceston General Hospital boss Peter Renshaw could have medical registration cancelled

A scandal-ridden director who worked as a Launceston General Hospital boss for decades has been suspended from medical practice. What could happen next before a tribunal >

Peter Renshaw, the executive director of medical services at Launceston General Hospital, giving evidence to Tasmania's child sexual abuse commission of inquiry.

A scandal-ridden medical director who worked as a Launceston General Hospital boss for decades has been suspended from practice.

Disgraced Peter Renshaw, who started in the role of executive director of medical services in 1989 after just two years as a junior doctor, retired in 2022 after giving evidence at Tasmania’s child sexual abuse commission of inquiry.

More recently, and since his retirement, the former Dr Renshaw was accused in a parliamentary inquiry of failing to refer the deaths of multiple LGH patients to the coroner, despite being required to do so by law.

Last week, the The University of Queensland-trained doctor had his registration suspended by the Medical Board of Australia.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) website states he “cannot practise in Australia”.

The Medical Board may suspend a practitioner as a form of “immediate action in the public interest”, if it believes they pose “a serious and immediate risk to the public”.

Dr Renshaw will not be able to practise in medicine again – unless or until the board, or the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative tribunal decides to revoke the suspension.

The tribunal could also decide to cancel his registration altogether, reprimand him, or reinstate his registration with conditions.

Peter Renshaw in 2002.

Last week, the Department of Health announced a coroner would investigate six LGH deaths – following allegations raised by nurse Amanda Duncan that Dr Renshaw routinely falsified death certificates and didn’t report the deaths to the coroner.

Last year, Dr Renshaw’s name was blighted by a commission of inquiry misconduct for misleading his superiors about information relating to prolific pedophile and LGH children’s nurse, James Geoffrey Griffin, misleading the commission of inquiry itself, and bringing “the state service into disrepute”.

While publicly giving evidence before the commission, Dr Renshaw was chastised for showing an “astonishing lack of insight” after publicly proclaiming he didn’t believe a doctor-rape allegation by a late child patient, in front of the girl’s family.

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