Health minister 'appalled' at evidence against surgeon Emil Gayed
The New South Wales health minister says he is “appalled” by evidence against a doctor accused of professional misconduct for allegedly performing invasive and unnecessary surgeries on his patients’ reproductive organs over a six-year period.
Brad Hazzard has ordered the health district responsible for managing the Manning Rural Referral hospital in Taree to provide him with a full report after being alerted by Guardian Australia to accusations against Emil Shawky Gayed.
“The minister is appalled by the evidence,” Hazzard’s office said in a statement.
“If there are any steps that should be taken to further protect patients, then that will be done,” Hazzard said.
The Health Care Complaints Commission alleged at the NSW civil and administrative tribunal last week that Gayed was guilty of professional misconduct. The tribunal has reserved its decision.
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Seven women received inappropriate medical treatment from Gayed, and many of them did not give informed consent to major surgery, the tribunal heard. One incident dates back to 2011, the most recent was in 2016.
Gayed was first registered in 1994 and holds a speciality in obstetrics and gynaecology. The complaints relate to his time working at Manning Rural Referral hospital, from which he resigned in February 2016.
He performed a hysterectomy on one woman even though she could have been treated with painkillers and bed rest, the tribunal heard. The woman never consented to a hysterectomy.
Another woman’s foetus was put at risk when Gayed performed an ablasion procedure, which involves surgically destroying the lining of the uterus. Not only was the surgery unnecessary, but Gayed also failed to conduct proper screening and did not detect the pregnancy. It was not until two months after the procedure that the woman realised she was pregnant.
Instead of immediately reporting the serious medical error to the hospital management as required by NSW health protocols, Gayed paid to fly the woman to a Sydney clinic where he performed an abortion. It is unclear how many weeks pregnant the woman was at that time.
A senior medical negligence lawyer with the law firm Carroll amp; O’Dea said the HCCC could challenge any decision made against Gayed if it did not believe the penalty was harsh enough.
“In a case like this, the thing that always worries people, and that includes me, is how someone who is working in a health facility where there is supervision and other staff can engage in this conduct over a period of time without it coming to the attention of people further up the tree,” Bill Madden told Guardian Australia.
Gayed has relinquished his medical registration, but the HCCC and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency were unable to say if he practised elsewhere after resigning from the Manning Rural Referral hospital. Five weeks after he resigned, Ahpra placed restrictions that barred him from performing certain procedures, including hysterectomies, laparoscopic treatment of moderate or severe endometriosis, and transvaginal mesh surgery. He was also ordered to be supervised except when consulting in his own rooms, and not to perform any sur-
gical procedures without the approval of the Medical Council of NSW.
A spokeswoman for Hunter New England local health district told Guardian Australia it began an internal investigation into Gayed in February 2016, suspending him from all duties. But he resigned before the investigation was complete.
“The investigation concluded that Dr Gayed exhibited unsatisfactory professional conduct in the care of these patients,” the spokeswoman said. “If he hadn’t resigned, Hunter New England Health would have terminated his contract.”
The investigation was triggered after staff raised concerns about the quality of care Gayed provided. “These concerns were reinforced by two of Dr Gayed’s patients,” the spokeswoman said.
“Other local facilities where Dr Gayed was known to be providing services were also advised of the findings of our investigation and the matter was referred to Ahpra and the HCCC.”
Gayed obtained his bachelor of medicine at Ain Shams University in Egypt, documents obtained by Guardian Australia show. He became a fellow of the Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1993.
Do you know more? Contact melissa.davey@theguardian.com