Lawyers representing more than 70 women who say they have been harmed by the disgraced gynaecologist Emil Shawky Gayed have called on the New South Wales health department to urgently make public the report into the failures of the health and regulatory systems to stop him.
On Thursday afternoon, the high-profile barrister Gail Furness delivered her report to the department, which included a series of recommendations to prevent such a catastrophe unfolding again. However, a department spokeswoman would not say when the report would be made public.
“The report into the oversight of the quality of care and safety of patients treated by Dr Gayed in NSW public hospitals has now been received,” she said. “NSW Health is currently considering the report’s recommendations.”
A Guardian Australia investigation first revealed that Gayed operated on his patients without their informed consent, including unnecessarily removing their reproductive organs. One of his patients died following inadequate care. Dozens of other victims came forward, prompting the health department to order the independent and wide-reaching Furness investigation.
Medical lawyer Justine Anderson, from the law firm Carroll & O’Dea, said many women across NSW who were treated by Gayed were “anxiously awaiting” the Furness report findings and that it should have been released as soon as it was delivered to the department.
“These patients, including the more than 20 represented by our firm, have been waiting for answers as to what was known, by whom and what actions, if any, were taken in the various hospitals where Dr Gayed worked,” she said.
“In seeking to exercise their legal rights, many potential claimants may be seriously disadvantaged by time limitation provisions. A delay in releasing the final part of this report will only further delay the ability for women to seek to protect their legal rights. The Furness report will only now provide the first full account of Dr Gayed’s activity within the NSW public hospital system.”
A separate Health Care Complaints Commission investigation that concluded in 2017 found he removed the healthy fallopian tube of one woman and needlessly performed a hysterectomy on another.
Guardian Australia revealed complaints were made about Gayed more than two decades ago while he worked in Canberra.
Slater and Gordon practice group leader Andrew Baker said his firm was representing at least 50 of Gayed’s victims. The firm is now considering whether they have enough evidence to launch a class action.
“We’ve been continuing to stay in touch with the dozens of women affected by this issue who contacted us and we echo the calls for the report to be made public as quickly as possible,” he said.
“It’s of significant concern to the women speaking to us that the full story come to light about the effects of the failures in the system and, more broadly, there is a public interest in explaining what has gone on fully so that when using the health system, patients can be confident of their safety.”
Furness was ordered to examine the quality of care and safety of patients treated by Gayed, the management of any complaints, adverse events or performance issues relating to Gayed, and subsequent action taken by the five local health districts who employed him. She delivered a part of her report in November, which found the state medical watchdog, the Medical Council of NSW, placed the privacy of a negligent doctor before the right of his employers to know of his history of harming patients and also before public safety. The council quickly made the report public.
Furness was asked to report back to NSW Health by 30 September but asked for two extensions, with the report finally delivered on Thursday.
