The Australian Medical Association (AMA) says it has serious concerns about an ongoing investigation into a central Queensland urologist.
Dr Antonio Vega Vega was suspended from the Rockhampton Hospital earlier this year, over allegations he botched several operations.
His right to practise was reinstated in June, after the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal cleared him of any wrongdoing.
He has resumed work at two private hospitals in Rockhampton but the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service says it will not lift its suspension until its own investigation is complete.
AMA state branch president Shaun Rudd says Dr Vega Vega is being denied natural justice.
“It’s very hard to investigate something when the surgeon involved has been unable to give his side of the story,” he said.
Dr Rudd says the hospital service should stop looking for a scapegoat.
“They should get on with sorting it out, unfortunately the way they started off [managing the situation] was very poor and there was that blame type of culture,” he said.
“They need to stop that and hopefully they will understand from their mistakes that that’s not the way to handle these sorts of situations in the future.”
The Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service says it is putting patient safety first and is expecting the results of its investigation by the end of next week.