Oz prosecutor says `Dr. Death’ was ‘a bad surgeon’

June 15th, 2010 - 6:19 pm ICT by ANI  

Brisbane, June 15 (ANI): Brisbane Supreme Court prosecutor Ross Martin on Tuesday described Indian-origin Dr. Jayant Patel a.k.a. ‘Dr. Death’ as a “rotten surgeon” who did not have the skills to perform major operations.

At the start of his closing address in the Supreme Court in Brisbane today, Martin told the jury they would be satisfied Patel’s negligence caused the deaths of three patients, and the serious injury of another.

Dr Patel has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Mervyn Morris, Gerardus Kemps and James Phillips during his time as director of surgery at the Bundaberg Base Hospital between 2003 and 2005. He has also pleaded not guilty to the grievous bodily harm of Ian Vowles.

Martin said the Patel trial was about “judgments”, and that his negligence extended to his poor decisions about when to operate, and his choices about appropriate post-operative care.”You’ll be satisfied that the accused was a bad surgeon. Surgery is not just about cutting - it involves pre- and post-surgical choices as well. If you don’t have all of these skills, you ought not to be offering surgery to patients,” The Age quoted Martin, as saying.

He said Dr. Patel’s comment to Bundaberg nurse Damien Bondarenko in 2005 was illustrative of his “ego and lack of insight” into his actions.

Martin said he would speak at length about the evidence given during the trial, which is now in its 13th week.

The trial continues. (ANI)

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