For failing to inform the patient that he had cancer and had passed away in June, Dr. Nelson Nagoor has been placed on leave.
It was determined that Dr. Nagoor, a retired physician who lives in South Africa, was negligent and tarnished the standing of the medical profession.
Invercargill hosted a tribunal hearing on Thursday.
Tim Burns, Dr. Jan McKenzie, Dr. William Rainger, and Dr. Kristin Good all spoke on the panel, which was presided over by Alison Douglass.
While working at the Nga Kete Matauranga Pounamu Charitable Trust’s He Puna Waiora Wellness Center in Invercargill, Joshua Linder visited Dr. Nagoor in April 2019 with a mole on his back.
The family of a cancer patient in Invercargill believes that they have fulfilled their last commitment to him, heard his voice, and are now free to mourn.
Joshua Linder’s former doctor, Nelson Nagoor, was found guilty of professional misconduct by a Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.
Why Was Dr. Nelson Nagoor Fined $5,000 And Suspended?
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An ex-doctor from Invercargill who neglected to tell his patient that he had cancer was punished, but he was not present.
The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal found in October that Joshua Linder, a patient, should have been informed by his doctor that he had a deadly type of melanoma skin cancer. However, Dr. Nelson Nagoor failed to do so.
The panel found that Nagoor had practiced both clinical negligence and professional misconduct. Later, cancer claimed Linder’s life.
His lesion had advanced when he met Dr. Nagoor, according to the evidence that was given, therefore the outcome would not have changed had he been referred sooner.
Dr. Nelson Nagoor removed a lesion from Linder’s back and asked the lab for a histology sample.
Dr. Nagoor was unable to notify Linder of the histology findings despite getting a report that verified the legion was an invasive superficial spreading primary melanoma and that the information suggested a larger resection.
He didn’t do a second excision or advise Linder to see a specialist.
Nagoor was not present as the panel continued to the punishment hearing on Wednesday after his retirement and return to South Africa, according to the tribunal members.
Nagoor’s actions, according to Tribunal Chairwoman Alison Douglass, caused or were likely to bring the medical profession into discredit.
Charges and Suspension of Dr. Nelson Nagoor
Nagoor was found guilty by the tribunal, had his registration suspended for three months, was fined $5,000, and was ordered to pay $26,000 of the $73,000 in expenses related to the disciplinary procedures.
Nagoor must train under supervision for 18 months on his own dime and complete a performance evaluation to gauge his aptitude. If he chooses to practice medicine in New Zealand again, he will be prohibited from doing so as a single practitioner for three years.
Director of the proceedings Jane Herschell had earlier argued that Nagoor’s registration should be withdrawn and, if not, suspended. She also argued in favor of a fine, a reprimand, and cost reimbursement.
She said that it is a requirement of the job of a general practitioner to be able to read and interpret a histology report.
In response to an accusation of clinical negligence, Nagoor’s attorney, Adam Holloway, had argued against suspending Nagoor’s registration, saying that such a penalty should only be used in the most extreme cases.
At the He Puna Waiora Wellness Center in Invercargill, which is managed by the Nga Kete Matauranga Nga Pounamu Charitable Trust, Dr. Nagoor saw Linder throughout the months of April and May 2019. the procedure to treat the aggressive skin cancer on Linder’s back.
He acknowledged to having “made a mistake,” according to Alison Douglass, the tribunal’s head, who made this statement in October.
Douglass said that it was amply obvious from the patient files and Linder’s evidence that Dr. Nagoor had breached his duty of care to Linder by neglecting to tell him of the histology report or arrange an in-person session to do so.
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