Older GP reprimanded after colleagues complain about outdated practices
The GP refused a pertussis booster for a pregnant patient, in a case that highlighted the need to consider when to retire, the tribunal said
The issue of competency checks for older doctors has re-emerged after a tribunal reprimanded an octogenarian GP who refused to give a pregnant woman a pertussis booster.
The GP, aged 80 at the time, was reported to the Medical Board of Australia by his practice, following complaints from his GP colleagues that he had failed to keep up with changes in practice.
It emerged at a tribunal hearing that he also treated a close family friend for a decade, and provided inadequate advice to a patient who was subsequently admitted to ICU with DVT.
In addition, the GP, who retired as soon as concerns about his practice were raised, had difficulty adapting to computerised note-taking systems and failed to keep contemporaneous and legible patient notes.
