SA hospital surgeon charged with deception following ICAC investigation
A surgeon at an Adelaide public hospital has been charged with 25 counts of deception over allegedly inaccurate timesheets after an investigation by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption.
Photo: InDaily
In a statement this afternoon, Commissioner Ann Vanstone said that a recent investigation by her officers found the 56-year-old Kingswood man allegedly deceived SA Health by submitting timesheets that falsely claimed that he had been recalled to a metropolitan hospital to perform surgery.
Vanstone said the alleged offending occurred between June 25, 2017, and April 27, 2018.
Her statement said that in some instances claims were allegedly made for procedures for which the surgeon had no involvement, while in others he “merely offered advice to a more junior doctor but did not perform the relevant procedure himself”.
Other claims involved procedures that the surgeon allegedly did perform, but in ordinary working hours for which he was already being paid, or which were undertaken in the surgeon’s private capacity.
“It is alleged that in all but one instance the timesheets were certified and authorised by the surgeon himself,” Vanstone said.
It is alleged that the total amount of the fraudulent claims is over $65,000.
The surgeon has been summonsed to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court next Tuesday.
