Medical Forum
Perth GP fined $15,000 for prescribing while suspended
A Perth GP has been convicted and fined $15,000 for writing more than 100 scripts while he was suspended.
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Medical Forum
Dr Patrick Nugawela continued consulting and issued 147 prescriptions to 96 patients despite being suspended by the Medical Board of Australia.
Dr Nugawela was suspended by the Board from May 12, 2023 to March 4, 2025, but he continued consulting with patients for a period of four months between May 16 and August 15, 2023.
Acting on a complaint received from a pharmacy, Ahpra launched an investigation and charged Dr Nugawela with four counts of holding himself out as a registered practitioner.
He initially pleaded not guilty, leading to a trial at Perth Magistrates’ Court in July this year.
During the trial Dr Nugawela changed his plea to guilty and the matter was referred to sentencing.
On August 18, Magistrate Sandra De Maio convicted Dr Nugawela of holding himself out as a registered medical practitioner, fined him $15,000 and ordered him to pay $25,000 towards Ahpra’s legal costs.
In sentencing, Magistrate De Maio noted that Dr Nugawela did not charge patients for the prescriptions and there was no evidence of patient harm.
But she said that having been registered for around 48 years, Dr Nugawela would have been well aware of his professional obligations, and he fully understood he was suspended.
She found Dr Nugawela showed “no expression of genuine remorse” for his actions and stated she considered the offending to be very serious.
“Medical practitioners need to be sent a strong message of the importance of strict compliance with the National Law.”
Ahpra chief executive Justin Untersteiner said the sentence and fine sent a strong message to all practitioners that there were harsh penalties for continuing to practice while suspended.
“Suspensions of practitioners are only imposed when a Board has formed a reasonable belief that a practitioner’s conduct poses a serious risk to patients,’ he said.
“Ahpra takes these matters seriously in the interest of patient safety and will take strong action when we find evidence of a practitioner ignoring a suspension to continue working.”