Change in medical specialist for KEMH inquiry

6/6/00
Health Minister John Day today announced that Cabinet had approved a change in the composition of the inquiry into the practice of obstetrics and gynaecology at King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH).
Mr Day said that Professor Jeffrey Robinson, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Adelaide, will take the place of Professor William Walters as the obstetric medical expert on the three-member panel.
Professor Robinson is also a visiting specialist at the Women's and Children's Hospital in North Adelaide, at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woodville, South Australia.
Professor Robinson's initial medical degree was gained from The Queen's University, Belfast, and his previous senior appointments include positions at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England, and the University of Newcastle, NSW.
The previous nominee, Professor Walters, has advised that he has been appointed Chair of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Science's Undergraduate Medical Education Committee at the University of Newcastle, and because of these new demands on his time he is reluctantly unable to participate in the KEMH inquiry.
The inquiry team is to be chaired by Mr Neil Douglas, a lawyer with considerable experience in public inquiries, and will include Associate Professor Kathleen Fahy, a lecturer in Midwifery from the School of Nursing at the University of Southern Queensland.
"The inquiry team has the medical and legal expertise to ensure a thorough investigation of obstetrics and gynaecological practices at the hospital", Mr Day said.

Media contact: Hugh Ryan 9213 6700