North Coast Area Health Service background checks on medical practitioners need to be reviewed

When the Premier stood before the NSW Parliament yesterday and apologised for the abject failure to adequately check the background and credentials of one Bega medical practioner, he was speaking to a larger problem and one which affects rural/regional areas.

On the same day The Northern Star reported that "FORMER Lismore obstetrician Roman Hasil has had his medical registration in NSW and Queensland suspended after claims of lies, violence and fraud.
Dr Hasil worked at Lismore Base Hospital from 2001 to 2005 but left under a cloud after an investigation found he fiddled the books to claim money he was not entitled to, something the Czech-born and trained doctor denies.
Now a New Zealand Government investigation has revealed Dr Hasil lied about a criminal conviction and jail term in Singapore for domestic violence; was forced from a hospital in Victoria and suspended in New Zealand for drinking while on call; and botched about a quarter of the sterilisation procedures he performed on women while working at New Zealand's Wanganui Hospital."

The NSW Minister for Health, the Dept. of Health and North Coast Area Health Service need to get their act together, and conduct an urgent review of the level of supporting documentation required from doctors applying for hospital positions or privileges and the parameters of background checks on these applicants.
North Coast residents deserve a tangible assurance that due diligence is in place to protect their health and wellbeing.