Dr Selwyn Leeks, the psychiatrist accused of mistreating young patients at Lake Alice Hospital in Manawatu in the 1970s, has handed in his medical licence in Australia, on the eve of a disciplinary hearing against him.
Dr Leeks was due to have appeared before Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria panel on Wednesday to answer charges of professional misconduct, the New Zealand Herald reported today.
But on Tuesday Dr Leeks, who is in his mid-70s, gave the board an undertaking that he would stop practising any form of medicine.
If he had been found guilty his medical registration could have been revoked.
Board spokeswoman Nicole Newton said last night this was effectively an international ban because to be registered elsewhere Dr Leeks would need a certificate of good standing from the Victorian board.
If he tried to resume practising, the hearing would be re-activated.
Dr Leeks headed Lake Alice Hospital's child and adolescent unit, which closed in the late 1970s. In 2001, the Government gave apologies and compensation to a group of former patients of the unit. It later extended these to a second group, bringing to $10.7 million the total paid to 183 people.
Documenting Psychiatrists Behaving Badly
Of all professions, psychiatrists seem to get into the most trouble. I have been collecting stories about psychiatric screwups for a while. Sadly, it has been disgustingly easy to do. We post stories with links to the original sources. We couldn't make this stuff up if we wanted to. My Name is Sickmind Fraud.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Lake Alice psychiatrist hands in licence to escape public hearing
As seen in this New Zealand Report
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