Gerber Paul
Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Med J Aust. 2007 Apr 2;186(7):359-62. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2007.tb01260.x.
In 2001, the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria received a complaint from an Australian Government Senator regarding a late-term abortion carried out in February 2000 at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne. Five years later, the complaint of professional misconduct was finally dismissed by the Board as being frivolous and vexatious. The action highlights a number of deficiencies in the way medical practitioner boards deal with complaints against medical practitioners; in particular, the Board's lack of discretion to deal with complaints lacking substance. Early mediation of the dispute between the Royal Women's Hospital and the Medical Practitioners Board could have avoided a great deal of suffering and expense. As a result of this case, it is likely that the Victorian Medical Practitioners Board will be given additional powers in the future to deal with complaints without merit.
2001年，维多利亚州医疗从业者委员会收到澳大利亚政府一名参议员就2000年2月在墨尔本皇家妇女医院进行的晚期堕胎手术提出的投诉。五年后，该委员会最终以投诉琐屑无聊且无理取闹为由驳回了这项关于专业不当行为的投诉。这一事件凸显了医疗从业者委员会在处理针对医疗从业者的投诉方式上存在的一些缺陷；特别是，委员会缺乏处理缺乏实质内容投诉的酌处权。皇家妇女医院与医疗从业者委员会之间争端的早期调解本可避免大量的痛苦和费用。鉴于此案例，维多利亚州医疗从业者委员会未来可能会被赋予更多权力来处理毫无价值的投诉。
