ULTIMATE BETRAYAL

Victims of medical workers urged to come forward after shock arrest

A SENIOR lawyer who specialises in sexual abuse claims has appealed for anyone who may have fallen victim to a predatory medical professional to come forward.

Shine Lawyers national practice leader Leanne McDonald put the call out after an anaesthetist working in Toowoomba was charged with three counts of sexual assault. Police allege he groped and filmed several women while they were unconscious.

It is one of the thousands of sexual abuse allegations levelled against Australian medical professionals in the past decade.

VICTIMS of predatory health professionals are urged to come forward after a 59-yearold anaesthetist is alleged to have photographed and touched unconscious women while working in Toowoomba.

The allegations of misconduct in the medical field ring familiar for Shine Lawyers national practice manager Leanne McDonald.

She is dealing with about 20 civil cases that involve allegations of doctors, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists and kinesiologists sexually abusing their patients.

Ms McDonald urged anyone who is concerned they may be a victim to come forward.

“When people visit a doctor, they place incredible amounts of trust in them,” he said.

“Doctors who use this power imbalance as an opportunistic time to sexually abuse someone is a very serious issue.”

Data from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulator Agency records 1507 counts of sexual misconduct in the medical and health fields between 2011-2016.

They are tied to 1167 of the 724,649 registered health prac titioners, or about 0.2 per cent of professionals.

About 380 cases involved alleged sexual relationship, while 1136 cases allege sexual harassment or assault.

Psychiatrists are over represented in the data and account for 15 per cent of the allegations.

“Sadly, we are seeing an increase in inquiries from women, in particular, who have been sexually abused by a medical practitioner wanting to know their legal rights,” Ms McDonald said.

“This is extremely concerning.”

All of the cases Ms McDonald deals with are civil matters and most are resolved out of court and are subject to strict confidentiality clauses.

The Toowoomba matter is different.

Queensland Police Service detectives based at Brisbane charged the doctor with three counts each of sexual assault and recordings in breach of privacy.

They will allege the doctor inappropriately touched three women aged in their 20s at Toowoomba while they were unconscious between November 2020 and February this year.

Ms McDonald said they were very serious allegations.

“We currently represent clients who have been sexually exploited in doctor and specialists rooms, but to hear that this anaesthetist has sexually abused and photographed woman in Toowoomba while they were unconscious is certainly one of the most opportunistic and deplorable acts of doctor/patient abuse I have come across in my many years working in abuse law,” she said.

“It is imperative that patients who have been dealt with inappropriately by a medical practitioner report what happened to them, but if nothing is reported rogue doctors can continue practising without investigation and other patients will be at risk.”

We are seeing an increase in inquiries from women … who have been sexually abused by a medical practitioner LEANNE MCDONALD, SHINE LAWYERS