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 resides 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 final commitment to him, heard his voice, and are now free to grieve.
Joshua Linder’s former doctor, Nelson Nagoor, was found guilty of professional misconduct by a Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.
Why Was Dr. Nelson Nagoor Suspended And Fined $5000?
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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 form 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 saw 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 inform Linder of the histology findings despite getting a report that verified the legion was an invasive superficial spreading primary melanoma and that the information advised a larger resection.
He didn’t do a second excision or advise Linder to consult a specialist.
Nagoor was not present as the panel continued to the penalty 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.
Dr. Nelson Nagoor Suspension And Charges
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 costs related to the disciplinary procedures.
Nagoor must train under supervision for 18 months on his own dime and finish 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 censure, and expense reimbursement.
She continued that it is a requirement of the job of a general practitioner to be able to read and comprehend 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 sanction should only be used in the most extreme cases.
At the He Puna Waiora Wellness Center in Invercargill, which is run 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.
Dr. Nelson Nagoor of South Africa presented an affidavit for the initial hearing. He apologized and admitted that his actions constituted professional misconduct through his counsel.
He admitted to having “made a mistake,” according to Alison Douglass, the tribunal’s head, who made this statement in October.
Douglass asserted 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 inform him of the histology report or arrange an in-person session to do so.
He failed to tell Linder that the lesion was cancerous or malignant. Douglass asserts that Dr. Nagoor informed Linder that the tumor was not malignant in the tribunal’s written conclusions.
Douglass claims that Dr. Nagoor admitted his recall was foggy and that Linder might have thought the prognosis wasn’t cancer.
According to Douglass, the tribunal was satisfied that between roughly April 17, 2019, and August 2, 2019, Dr. Nagoor did not appropriately advise Linder that he had an advanced, malignant melanoma cancer.
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