An eastern suburbs psychiatrist has avoided losing his licence to practice, despite a tribunal finding he breached professional boundaries after going on a night out at the Star Casino with a patient he knew had a problem with gambling. Dr Nathan Fleisch — who practices out of Bondi and Botany — landed himself in hot water and faced a series of serious allegations after the out of office interactions with a patient he had consulted 19 times. Some of the Health Care Complaints Commission’s allegations included claims he asked to borrow money from the 69-year-old man he was treating for a raft of mental health issues, a claim Dr Fleisch denied In one incident, it was alleged the pair got into an altercation at the casino after the patient lost $30,000 in one go, a claim that was also denied by Dr Fleisch, who attempted to stop the man from gambling away more. The health practitioner watchdog also brought forward allegations the Maroubra physician offered his patient alcohol during consultations, which Dr Fleisch again denied, and that he had even stayed in his patient’s VIP room at the casino. The 50-year-old told the The Civil and Administration Tribunal he “should have known better” as his own gambling addiction was costing him $4000 to $5000 a week. The tribunal heard Dr Fleisch now considers The Star, where the events unfolded and where he was once a VIP member, “an evil place” and that the whole saga was a “mistake and a huge wake-up call”. A fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Dr Fleisch moved to the east after stints at the Bankstown Hospital and the Northern Area Health service. He has practised out of Bondi Junction and Botany since 2012. Dr Fleisch was unable to be reached for comment. Character references tendered reveal Dr Fleisch was remorseful for his behaviour and that he was “very concerned for the welfare of patients”. The tribunal found the four complaints brought before it by the HCCC were established, though some of the particulars were not proven. The HCCC had submitted that suspending or cancelling Dr Fleisch’s licence was justified, but that a reprimand was appropriate as some of the boundary violations were less serious. As part of the of the findings, Dr Fleisch can no longer treat new patients without discussing it with a supervisor first.
