A Victorian surgeon charged with raping a doctor, after allegedly removing a condom during sex without his permission, is allowed to keep practising, a tribunal says. The male surgeon was charged with rape and sexual assault in September last year over the alleged incident with the male doctor in mid-2017. The incident unfolded after the pair went out for dinner, then had sex in the doctor’s home. The surgeon assured him he would use a condom, but the doctor discovered he had removed it during intercourse and became “very upset”. When he asked the surgeon why, he replied it “feels better”, the tribunal was told. The doctor alleged that the surgeon reassured him his health was not at risk, even though he had unprotected sex with other men as recently as six weeks earlier. The surgeon had also admitted earlier during dinner he was taking medicine to lower his chance of HIV infection, to which the doctor replied it he saw it as an added safety net and would always use a condom. Feeling “very distressed and concerned” after the unprotected sex, the doctor reported the matter to police. The surgeon informed the Medical Board of Australia of the charges and said he would fight them. The board then suspended him from practising in November 2018, describing the alleged conduct as “egregious” and said it would undermine confidence in the medical profession if the public was aware of the circumstances claimed. However, the surgeon successfully overturned the suspension at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal which ruled by majority the immediate action was not in the public interest. The tribunal said while the allegations are “grave”, they are yet to be tested in court and it could be at least a year before the charges are dealt with. It also said there’s no evidence justifying an immediate suspension, on the basis the surgeon poses a serious risk to others. The Medical Board is fighting the VCAT ruling, with a trial set for the Supreme Court in July.
June 3, 2019
A paramedic has described feeling scared and violated after he was violently and sexually assaulted by a female patient while trapped in the back of an ambulance waiting for help to arrive. Emma Elizabeth Biggs, 34, appeared mildly drunk and highly emotional when the two paramedics arrived to a report of a woman needing help in Civic last November. But while driving to the hospital she lunged at the paramedic in the back of the ambulance. When he asked her to sit back down she said “no you’re going to f–k me”. She grabbed his crotch and squeezed and swore at them. She exposed herself to the paramedic sitting with her and threw things at both men until they were eventually able to sedate her. The paramedic who was sexually assaulted said at a sentencing for Biggs in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday that he had felt uncomfortable, violated and fearful, and that the attack had stripped him of the ability to do his job and act with her best interests at heart, reducing him to what he felt was a scared blithering mess. He feared she would complain about him, that he might lose his job, and that no one would believe the word of two male paramedics over a female patient. “There I was, a 6 foot 90 kilogram bloke completely helpless against a petite female, how could this be, I still don’t completely understand it,” he said. “My colleagues and I do what we do because frontline paramedics … genuinely want to help people,” he said. “I don’t care who you are I will always do my best to help. My real fear is that the defendant has taken away my ability to do that.” The paramedic said with next to no support from the ACT Ambulance Service that he continued to deal with the impact of the attack on his own, though was lucky to have supportive family and friends. He said the attitudes of some people were disappointing, and the difference in expectation between genders. “I would like to state that regardless of gender the impacts and ongoing effects following an incident like this are very very real,” he said. Her attack had changed the way he worked and he believed it would forever. The paramedic said he hoped Biggs’ sentence was a wake up call to get the help she needed. “As always my colleagues and I will be there to help you and everyone else should you need us. “If you need us you know our number.” Magistrate Glenn Theakston said it was a shame someone with no criminal history had come to court faced with several serious charges. Biggs had pleaded guilty early to two common assaults, an act of indecency and damaging a machine worth $25,000 in the back of the ambulance. He said whatever the gender of the patient or the paramedic, the woman’s behaviour was unacceptable. He said the woman was expressed embarrassment and shame and had taken full responsibility for what happened though she did not remember the incident. Watching herself on surveillance footage had been difficult, the court heard. Mr Theakston said her references showed her to be a pleasant, caring, quiet and reserved woman but she had a serious problem with alcohol. The court heard the woman had booked herself into a residential rehabilitation centre a month after the incident, and was successfully continuing the program today. The case was an example of the fact that alcohol, although a normal and common substance, had the ability to rob some people of their choices and ability to control their actions, Mr Theakston said. He sentenced Biggs to a total of five months imprisonment but suspended the term immediately. He also imposed an 18 month good behaviour order and and a 12 month prohibition order.
June 3, 2019
United Protestant Association NSW Ltd is once again before the tribunal in a s.604 (Appeal of decisions) before Deputy President Masson in Court 3 – Level 6 Conference Room B – Level 6 in Melbourne on a Grabovsky matter.
June 3, 2019
Estia Health Ltd will face a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) in front of Fair Work Deputy President Bull in Conference Rooms 14A & 14B – Level 14 in Sydney (Parkinson).
June 3, 2019
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery and Ramsay Health Care Australia Pty Limited have a s.739 (Application to deal with a dispute) to debate at noon before Commissioner Johns in Chambers in Melbourne.
June 3, 2019
A s.185 (Enterprise agreement) application by Aged Care Deloraine Inc. T/A Aged Care Deloraine for its Aged Care Deloraine Inc. Enterprise Agreement 2017 has been ratified by Fair Work Deputy President Millhouse sitting in Melbourne, on 30 May 2019.
June 3, 2019
Presbyterian Aged Care will put its defence to a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) in front of Fair Work Deputy President Boyce in Chambers in Sydney at 11am (Rahman).
June 3, 2019
A s.185 (Enterprise agreement) application by the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia Limited for the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia Ltd. Enterprise Agreement 2018 (Social, community, home care and disability services) has been ratified by Deputy President Kovacic in Canberra, on 28 May 2019.
