Well-known neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo’s right to continue operating on patients may be in danger, after being called before an urgent panel of the New South Wales Medical Council on Thursday.
The council is expected to hear a number of complaints against the neurosurgeon regarding his methods of treating patients with inoperable conditions.
Though the 63-year-old declined to comment, he is expected to strongly defend himself against the allegations.
The council has the ability to suspend Dr Teo from practicing immediately, or impose conditions on his practice, as they consider whether he operated on people whose lives couldn’t be saved, what he told them, and what kind of informed consent he obtained from them.
“We must take immediate action if we decide that it is appropriate to protect the health and safety of any person or it is in the public interest,” the Medical Council’s website reads.
The hearing comes two years after Dr Teo revealed he had been threatened with disciplinary action by the NSW Health Complaints Commission (HCCC) when he read a letter from them at a conference in Canberra.
The HCCC warned him at the time against making “comments which may undermine confidence in colleagues’ directive decisions relating to patients”.
He also defended himself against criticisms from University of Sydney professor Henry Woo, who critiqued his billing practices.
Dr Teo said he gets a fraction of the fees charged to patients, with the majority paying for private hospital treatment.
“As a neurosurgeon I offer surgery to patients from all around the world who have been given no hope,” his website for the Charlie Teo Foundation states.
The HCC said yesterday that it had “completed a number of investigations relating to Dr Charlie Teo”, with the finaled matters being referred to the independent Director of Proceedings.
A spokesman for the HCCC said: “A further related investigation is being finalised. To ensure that the integrity of the legal processes and further investigation are not compromised, the Commission is unable to provide further comment on those matters at this time.”
