A former director of O&G accused of dangerous practice has won his legal fight against an emergency ban on performing or assisting in surgical procedures.

The case of Dr George Campbell du Toit, who was originally suspended from Queensland’s Mackay Base Hospital in 2021 a year after he was appointed, has again raised questions about the use of emergency powers against doctors.

In his appeal to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, it emerged that he had been accused of substandard care of patients he had not actually treated.

The tribunal heard that the Office of the Health Ombudsman took immediate action against Dr du Toit in May last year, relying on a report drawn up by another doctor who reviewed the treatment of several patients selected by the ombudsman.