Doctor loses suspension appeal

A Caroline Springs doctor whose home clinic is under investigation has had her bid to lift suspension of her registration quashed by the Victorian Supreme Court.

General practitioner Eiman Al Raheb last month appealed her suspension at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, saying she was the sole earner for her household and an ongoing investigation into her home clinic could take up to 18 months to complete.

Dr Al Raheb’s registration was suspended by the Medical Board of Australia in December last year.

In court, she argued that the tribunal misapplied the law when it upheld her suspension in January this year.

But the Supreme Court on August 24 dismissed her appeal to have her registration lifted and modified so she could work in orthodox medical clinics again.

A court document said Dr Al Raheb started consulting patients from an after-hours medical practice that she ran from home in 2015.

A complaint was laid the following year with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) after a patient of
Dr Al Raheb was hospitalised after receiving botox injections.

AHPRA investigators later identified concerns relating to hygiene and infection control procedures, the storage of medication and patient notes, and the presence of multiple script pads at the home clinic.

In dismissing the appeal, Judge Mary-Jane Ierodiaconou said for there to be an error of law, Dr Al Raheb had to establish that VCAT was bound to reach the opposite conclusion from upholding her suspension.