Medical practitioner reprimanded by tribunal and disqualified for three years

14 Dec 2020

A tribunal has reprimanded and disqualified a medical practitioner from applying for registration for three years for engaging in professional misconduct.

The Medical Board of Australia (the Board) referred Dr John Whiteside to the State Administrative Tribunal in Western Australia (the tribunal) for conduct involving the treatment of a female patient between 2007 and 2016.

During the proceedings, Dr Whiteside accepted that he:

• failed to obtain informed consent before prescribing hormones to the patient
• failed to obtain and record an adequate history from the patient
• failed to undertake investigations or monitor the patient, specifically for the breast mass she reported to him
• prescribed hormone treatments to the patient that were inappropriate, particularly as they gave rise to the risk of cancer cell growth
• failed to conduct adequate testing or investigation throughout the treatment period, and
• kept inadequate patient records.

In December 2016, the patient was diagnosed with right breast carcinoma and ceased taking the hormone medication prescribed by Dr Whiteside.

Dr Whiteside also accepted that he breached the voluntary undertaking he had given to the Board in October 2010, in that he (among other things) did not inform the patient of his restricted scope of practice and did not provide patient reports to the patient’s general practitioner.

The tribunal found that Dr Whiteside had behaved in a way that constituted professional misconduct. He was:

• reprimanded
• disqualified from applying for registration for three years from 3 July 2020.

Dr Whiteside did not hold registration when this matter was finalised before the tribunal.

The tribunal’s decision is published on the eCourts website.