Some time ago a complaint was made to the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission about Dr Kerrie Meades, Ophthalmologist – one of our readers had been referred to her for help with the more and more severe double vision he was experiencing. The basis of his complaint was that he had spent 3 or 4 hours in her rooms seeing her and her people, at a cost of hundreds of dollars, and had learnt nothing. He claims he was obviously being regarded as a “cash cow.”
And that when he later saw Dr Ross Fitzsimons, another Ophthalmologist, all his problems were solved in quite a short consultation, at a cost of less than $150. In particular, Dr Fitzsimons told him straight away that the practical problems of his double vision could be solved by getting his Optometrist to put prisms in his glasses – not mentioned by anyone in the 3 or 4 hours he spent with Dr Meades and her people, and that when he did this, he says that the change was almost miraculous, that when he had glasses with prisms in them it was almost as if he no longer had double vision.
So did he have a basis for a complaint about Dr Meades?
Ms Sue Dawson, the Health Care Complaints Commissioner didn’t think so. She, herself, told him in an email, “Two doctors having different opinions or action plans about a patient does not necessarily mean that either practitioner’s conduct is unreasonable!!!“
Almost bizarre!!!
A copy of her email can be made available to those interested.
A great deal of work has recently been done to lodge a complaint with the HCCC about Dr Andrew Brooks, Urologist, who’s conduct, we believe, has, in one particular case, been horrible – he recommended and carried out treatment which didn’t help his patient in any way, and caused irreparable damage which will be with him for the rest of his life, it can’t be reversed, for which he charged $3,200 for less than an hours work. But the work that’s been done hasn’t been about Dr Brooks – we know what will happen, eventually someone, perhaps even Commissioner Dawson herself, will advise that there’s no basis for complaint and Brooks will have the last laugh – it’s been to demonstrate once again, to our readers, that, in New South Wales:-
(1) People like Kerrie Meades and Andrew Brooks know that they don’t have to worry about people possibly making complaints about them.
(2) People like Kerrie Meades and Andrew Brooks know that they can almost get away with murder.
(3) People like Kerrie Meades and Andrew Brooks are making more money than the “good guys” like Dr Fitzsimmons. (Why would anyone strive to be good guy, when the “crooks” aren’t working as hard and making more money? People like Brooks must be laughing all the way to the bank, getting $3,200 for less than an hours work, for providing useless and damaging treatment – and knowing they will get away with it.)
(4) AND that Commissioner Sue Dawson doesn’t care, our Premier, Gladys Berejiklian doesn’t care, and our Minister for Health, Brad Hazzard doesn’t care.
As we often say, if any of them ever showed the slightest indication that they DID care, it could make a lot of difference.
Copies of this post will be sent to Premier Berejiklian, Minister for Health, Brad Hazzard, and Commissioner Dawson, for their comments. If we hear from any if them, we’ll let our readers know.
A 26 Feb. 2021 update: There has been a delay in the sending of copies of the above post to Premier Berejiklian, Brad Hazzard and Sue Dawson – but they have been sent today. We’ll let you know if we hear from any of them.