Sick to Death

by Hedley Thomas

They called him Dr Death. A 15-year-old boy's leg had to be amputated as a result of his poor judgement. He botched a procedure on a young man, leaving him impotent and urinating through his rectum - and with a 30cm surgical clamp embedded in his abdomen. Undeterred by the atrocities he was causing, Dr Death continued to deceive the patients who trusted him to fix their pain. At least 17 people in his care did not survive.

Dr Jayant Patel's reign at Bundaberg Base Hospital lasted two years. A life-threatening combination of the doctor's manipulative personality and a culture of concealment in politics and medicine meant that the surgeon's incompetence went unchallenged by Queensland authorities, despite the fact that Dr Patel had previously been banned from surgical practice in the United States.

But a courageous nurse blew the whistle, taking the appalling story of a sick health system to a leading journalist and a state parliamentarian. Their combined efforts forced two powerful enquiries. This is a true story of deceit, tragedy and heroism, one that forces us to question our very faith in this country's medical system.

Hedley Thomas won a 2005 Walkley Award for unveiling the truth about Dr Patel. Toni Hoffman's efforts have been lauded on many levels including a Local Hero Award in the 2006 Australian of the Year honours.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Biography, Australia, Medicine, Medical, Health

448 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Krapmeister · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst a well written book, it doesn't tell the full story as it was published before Jayant Patel returned to Australia to face trial and the subsequent conviction, appeal and acquittal. It feels like only half of the story..

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating tale of an egomaniacal surgeon who moves to Queensland after being struck off in the US and is permitted to practice because of a poorly administered system for credentialing physicians. Several patients died or were maimed before the courage of a nurse, a politician and a journalist finally revealed his trail of destruction.

[Annie Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm amazed that this bloke got away with as much as he did for as long as he did. Really good book that covers the case extremely well.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A detailed account by an award winning journalist of the events relating to "Dr Death", Jayant Patel. Dr Patel performed surgeries in such a dangerous and appalling manner, causing multiple deaths and permanent injury to an astounding number of patients. Despite the nurses and other doctors at Bundaberg Base Hospital raising the alarm, he was allowed to continue to operate by the hospital administration and Queensland Health Department. The Health Department is as responsible for the continuing deaths as is Dr Patel himself, a surgeon who had his license revoked in the US before coming to Australia to practice. How did this happen? No checks were made of his background before appointing him to the senior position of Chief of Surgery at Bundaberg. Then, no follow up was made when multiple complaints were received from medical and nursing staff working directly with him. This book is an amazing read - both horrific and compelling. Sadly, justice has still not been achieved because the Queensland government continues to deal with this politically rather than addressing the needs of the people concerned.

[Hectaizani · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's unbelievable and scary the way that this doctor was able to slip through the cracks and hurt so many people. He never should have been allowed to practice medicine in Australia after being forbidden to practice in two states here in the US. However, a combination of skillful lies on his part and bureaucratic cover-ups kept this Dr. Death killing patients with botched surgeries for over two years.

[Clare Gilchrist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spent the first half of the book mouth agape wondering how the hell these things could happen in our hospital system. What a brave woman Toni
Hoffman is, truly an inspiration who never stopped fighting for her patients and future patients of this evil doctor.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book - very well written and a great insight into the way that the pressures on the public system lead to terrible unintended consequences.

[Nina Sithakarn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good insights to the QLD Health.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hedley Thomas is an incredible investigative journalist who has worked on an extraordinary number of stories, many of which have brought to light horrific acts of negligence and crime. I’ve enjoyed his podcasts prior, so this book was one that, when I saw it, I had to pick up. It’s well done and incredibly in-depth, but the biggest issue that it is plagued with is that it neglects to include the trial and conviction of Dr. Patel, and so it feels half baked. If it had reached that far, I would likely put it closer to a four star. With that being said, I applaud the efforts of all those who sought to expose the horrific actions of Patel and how they managed to take him down even though he had those in power on his side. An interesting story, but really only half of it.

[Jodie Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am at the half way mark, and can't put this book down. What really blows my mind is that some colleagues and I were lobbying QHealth for maternity reforms at the same time that the early Patel stories began to emerge. We knew there were problems related to staffing and governance and bed shortages, and even though we understood how bureaucratic processes block reforms, we had *no* idea how toxic and messy things really were behind the scenes. Not just in Bundaberg. The culture of blame and mistrust in public health still burns out doctors and nurses nation-wide. I see by other reviews the subsequent court findings aren't part of the story. That's a shame, maybe HT has another book in mind?

[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the detailed steps & descriptions of the different aspects of the hospital and Australian court systems, mixed in with the stories of the poor families who were involved with this gross oversight and lack of responsibility. I found myself not being able to put it down at times, because the next step would be just mind-blowing as to how this could ever happen!

Worth a read if it is in your realm of interests!
Eternally grateful for people like Toni Hoffman!!

[Rebekah Zhao · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very thorough, holistic overview of the problems that not only allowed this doctor to wreak havoc on patients, but also fostered a system of oppression that prevented hospital staff from being able to stop him sooner. I appreciate the complex portrait of the whole mess, which includes earlier events as well as the political climate surrounding the case. It does drag a bit late in the story, which slowed me down considerably in finishing it.

[Ashleigh Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my non fiction era. Love this and love most things that Hedley Thomas produces. Such an insight into the total cluster fuck that was QLD Health and just the Aus health care system more broadly in the early 2000s. I listened to the podcast of the same name alongside the book and found myself gasping and wtf-ing aloud so many times. If you don’t read the book at least listen to the podcast.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long, boring, hard to follow. Too many people who have nothing to do with the topic are mentioned in too great of depth or at all. Like the mother in law and her parents. I read until April 1 2005, then skipped until the end. Mind numbing.

[Alicia Grasby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting look into Dr Death and the large number of coverups and corruption which allowed him to keep operating on people. However the final 25% of the book was a bit slow and could've been summed up more sussinctly.

[Angela Balacco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly detailed and well written. I can hardly imagine the amount of work and research required to write this piece. Keep in mind, it does get a little slow at times, but I appreciate the complexity and depth. This is a good winter read.

[Jenna Helmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very very interesting story, but the way it was told was kinda odd to me

[Kelly Eveana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devastating - how this can happen is astounding.

[Frances Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up.

[Ay · Rating 4 out of 5]

So here is an odd thing - last night out of nowhere, i had a sudden urge to read up on the Jayant Patel affair.

I read justice Davies report on Patel and the queensland health system. It made complementary references to hedley Thomas' role in the matter. I googled around for his newspaper articles. Then I found his book. So I read it. It was interesting to juxtapose his recounting with justice Davies'.

I recommend this book as an engrossing read, and a window onto a very weird universe. Thomas' inclusion of the journalistic manoeuvrings and the very bizarre political...weirdness was fascinating and foreign to me. You also get flawed humans floundering around in insanely difficult environments.

If you do read this book, I strongly recommend justice Davies report as well. In that report he details the evidence, perspective and thinking of the burocrats and the department of health machinery. Davies comes across as an excellent ex appeals court judge, who clearly wants to help fix the whole thing up.

[BeyondDL · Rating 3 out of 5]

An already stressed health system meets a dangerously egotistical doctor makes this chapter in the Queensland health system so disturbing you'll be thankful for the crumby service you do actually get and hoping to avoid the knife altogether. There's an awful amount of faith people place in doctors and the hospitals that support them. Even faith might need an operation to correct this injustice.

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing account of a series of events that should never have been allowed to occur. My heart went out to all the victims, their families & the hospital staff having to work in this situation. Very detailed but very readable.

[Jen Kjar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read. As a nurse, it terrifies me to think there are clinicians who are allowed to practice medicine despite injuring and killing patients year after year I their practice.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this down - a damning expose the Queensland medical system. Jayant Patal is not the real issue though his story is terrible. This book is about the Australian government and what its priorities are, and what types of personalities it employs to carry out cost saving measures.