The family was unaware Mooney had to sew over an artery he had nicked during the operation.
Experts said this operation usually took around one and half hours. According to a nurse’s record, Mooney took only 23 minutes.
Patient B had died months earlier. “While operating on patient B, Dr Mooney penetrated the bone below the brain and disrupted an artery causing bleeding into the right frontal lobe. Patient B later passed away without regaining consciousness,” the tribunal found.
Patient B’s wife later successfully sued Mooney for negligence.
While the Herald named the victims in the 2018 reports, the NCAT has since suppressed their identities.
It affirmed that decision on Thursday, saying “there is a recognised need for anonymisation of patients to encourage the public to feel comfortable to make a complaint to the regulator without fear of publicity and loss of privacy and for the health regulator to be able to confidently inform complainants and patients that they will not be identified in future disciplinary proceedings”.
Following the Herald’s revelations in 2018, Mooney vehemently denied any wrongdoing saying, “Each was a tragedy. But contrary to what the Herald alleges, neither was caused by a complication in my procedure.” He also sued – unsuccessfully- for defamation.
Mooney later tried to blame the stresses in his life, including the breakup of his marriage some four years earlier, the adverse media attention and “the loss of a defamation case,” as excuses for lying to the authorities about his avoidance of a drug test.
However, NCAT was satisfied that in October 2018 Mooney had chosen to deliberately lie when he provided medical certificates to explain why he failed to attend mandatory hair drug testing. “He did not just omit or minimise facts. He told the Medical Council he was sick while in fact he was doing his usual work,” the tribunal found.
“Dr Mooney’s conduct in breaching conditions on his registration, and then deliberately lying to the Medical Council and the HCCC about those breaches and other matters, is completely inconsistent with his duty as a medical practitioner to be honest, ethical and trustworthy,” NCAT held.
“We disqualify him from being registered in the medical profession for a period of one year,” said the tribunal. Mooney has been ordered to pay costs.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
On the nose: celebrity surgeon William Mooney struck off over patient deaths
Source: Philippines Alive
