MORE MEDICAL MAYHEM IN AUSTRALIA

Three current articles about Australian public medicine below:

NSW paramedics being worked to death

An inquiry into the New South Wales Ambulance Service has heard many paramedics feel so stressed and overwhelmed by their workloads they are contemplating suicide. The Upper House inquiry has heard Three in Four ambulance officers feel over worked in the job, while a number of submissions have raised serious concerns about bullying.

Phil Roxbrough, Ambulance station manager in Moruya on the NSW south coast, told the hearing bosses needed to do more to address the problems associated with stress. "I hear stories from so many people who have come so close to attempting suicide or have gone through some really horrific experiences and someone needs to be a voice for these people, to care for these people," he said.

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Tasmanian public hospital bed shortages

Ongoing pressures at the Royal Hobart Hospital have surfaced again with staff and patients reporting issues across a number of departments yesterday. Australian Nursing Federation state secretary Neroli Elis said up to five ambulances were ramped outside the Emergency Department yesterday because of a drastic shortage of staff and beds. She said one patient in emergency had arrived at 8pm on Thursday and had not received a bed by 4.30pm yesterday. It follows an emergency meeting between staff and management last weekend after complaints that emergency patients were being left to wait on trolleys in corridors for up to 36 hours before beds were found.

Ms Ellis said the hospital was admitting elective surgery patients in order to meet its Commonwealth targets while emergency patients were left in crowded waiting rooms.

RHH spokeswoman Pene Snashall said the emergency department had not been abnormally busy. "I cannot find any evidence to substantiate their claims," Ms Snashall said. "The individual patient they refer to is not in (the emergency department) -- not on a trolley -- she is actually in the short-stay facility of ED under the care of neurosurgery specialists. "It is mischievous to suggest this person waiting in a waiting room or sitting in a chair for that amount of time."

Meanwhile a pregnant woman rang the Mercury yesterday to complain of overcrowding in the antenatal ward. "There are some very tired ladies here with heavy bellies and children running around and there are no seats for anyone," the woman said. "Staff have said we can look forward to a wait of one to two hours."

Last week, RHH chief executive Craig White admitted conditions in the hospital's maternity outpatient clinic were unsatisfactory but said there were limited options for improvement because of space constraints in the ageing hospital.

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Bulgarian doctor repeatedly botched surgery

While the regulators sleepwalked about it

A doctor accused of wrongly operating on patients and lying about the mistaken removal of a woman's ovary has just re-registered to practise. Dr Ivan Lubenov Popov is alleged to have lied to patients and misled staff about his procedures in an attempt to cover-up botched and potentially illegal medical procedures.

Documents filed to the Health Practitioners Tribunal registrar reveal a string of women have suffered complications and heartache since December 2006 because of the alleged negligent practices of the obstetrician and gynaecologist, who worked at the Caboolture Hospital. In one case he allegedly removed a woman's ovary that was meant to be preserved during a hysterectomy, and while admitting the surgical mistake to his superiors, continued to lie to the woman about the reason for its removal.

Four other women suffered complications following "inappropriate" surgery, which the Medical Board of Queensland claims should not have been performed at a provincial hospital given the women's medical history and potential for the operations to be complicated. In another case he is alleged to have consented to a medical procedure on a pregnant woman which he knew would result in a termination of her pregnancy, which she had earlier told him was unwanted.

But the Medical Board of Queensland said a termination was outside Queensland Health guidelines and Dr Popov deliberately tried to obfuscate the intent to perform the termination and misled his superiors and colleagues in the case.

The obstetrician is accused of negligence in a seventh instance, when he left a woman in labour with twins under the supervision of junior staff only, after ordering the top-up of an epidural. Dr Popov was able to continue his alleged cowboy operations on patients until he left his practice in July last year. It took another 11 months for the Medical Board of Queensland to place restrictions on his practice. It has now lodged action in the Health Practitioners Tribunal to have disciplinary action taken against him.

Dr Popov has re-registered to practise as a doctor from July 1 this year. But Queensland Health said he was no longer working for them and under Medical Board of Queensland guidelines, he has not been able to practise privately since the middle of last month. Queensland Health has also referred the matter to the Crime and Misconduct Commission and the Health Quality and Complaints Commission.

Spokesmen for both Queensland Health and the Medical Board of Queensland said they were unable to provide any more information on the doctor, who is understood to have moved to South Africa. Lawyers listed as a contact for Dr Popov in a Medical Board of Queensland document last month said yesterday they no longer represented him and were unable to assist with any further information. Neighbours at his last known address at Redcliffe said Dr Popov packed up and moved to South Africa last week. Dr Popov received his Diploma of Medicine from a University in Varna, Bulgaria, in 1990.

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