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Dr. Patel doctored resume, court told

Melbourne: Indian-origin doctor Jayant Patel, facing manslaughter charges in the deaths of 13 patients in Australia, had doctored his resume and concealed his history of alleged misconduct in the U.S. while applying for a job at a Brisbane hospital, a court was told on Monday.

Dr. Patel presented himself as a bored wealthy retired surgeon when he applied at Bundaberg Base Hospital in 2002, prosecutors said in the first day of Dr. Patel’s pre-trial hearing in the Brisbane Magistrates Court, six months after his extradition from the U.S. Dr. Kees Nydam, former acting director of medical services at Bundaberg, told the court that he had no idea Dr. Patel had faced more than a decade of disciplinary action in the U.S. including charges of gross misconduct.

Queensland Health officials left it to a private recruitment company to check Dr. Patel’s particulars and failed to pick up on an allegedly falsified resume, media reported here. An application he made for medical registration was also fraudulent, prosecutors said. Prosecutor Ross Martin said Dr. Patel had “dishonestly gained” the position of senior medical officer at the hospital. Dr. Patel, who was appointed director of surgery between April 2003 and April 2005, is charged with 14 criminal offences including manslaughter, grievous bodily harm and fraud stemming from the alleged dummy job application and treatment of patients at Bundaberg.

The court was told that Dr. Patel left the U.S. in 2003 after surrendering his medical licence in New York amid complaints and investigations. He is accused of performing several botched operations . — PTI

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