Medical Manslaughter

On 20 April 2009, Dr Jayant Patel was committed to stand trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court on three counts of manslaughter in relation to the deaths of patients under his care during his time as director of surgery at Bundaberg Base Hospital from 2003 to 2005. 'Dr Death', as he has become known in Australia's media, faces a further 10 charges including several counts of grievous bodily harm arising from his treatment of patients. If Dr Patel is convicted of any of the manslaughter charges, he will be the first doctor in Australia since Dr William Valentine in 1843 to be found liable for the manslaughter of a patient. This, perhaps astonishing fact, must be further considered against the extremely small number of doctors who have actually been charged with the manslaughter of their patients. This is also despite regular damming reports in the media concerning the number of deaths attributed to sub-standard medical treatment. (1)