Surgeon Michael Byrom’s Queensland Health appointment to be investigated
Queensland’s premier has vowed to investigate the appointment of a controversial heart and lung surgeon after he was appointed to head a new surgical quality and safety programme.
Clinical Excellence Queensland, an initiative of Queensland Health, announced on Tuesday that Dr. Michael Byrom as the state’s new surgical medical leader.
The cardiothoracic surgeon had previously been subject to extensive restrictions, which were later lifted, following complaints from whistleblowers.
In his new role, Byrom will lead a program that will identify and address systemic issues that contribute to preventable surgical morbidity and mortality and engage key stakeholders in the design and implementation of quality initiatives to improve patient outcomes.
“I bring strong theoretical, practical, and lived experience in patient safety, auditing, and evidence-based practices to this role,” Byrom wrote in a post on Facebook announcing the role.
However, the surgeon’s career came under scrutiny after a series of events. Whistleblower complaints in 2016 While working at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. An investigation found no evidence of significant clinical deviations that would warrant Byrom’s deregistration, but a subsequent investigation led to conditions being imposed on Byrom’s work in 2020.
These included strict supervision and retraining, as well as restrictions that prevented him from performing major heart and lung surgery. It appears that these conditions were later rescinded.
Premier David Crisafulli described Byrom’s appointment to Queensland Health as “concerning” and said he had asked Health Minister Tim Nicholls to review the department’s selection process.
“The Minister will investigate the issue” [and] Crisafulli said it was necessary to get to the bottom of this.
Nicholls said he was “seeking advice and assurance from the department of health regarding the appropriate process”, which included “checking all relevant material available on that doctor”.
A Queensland Health spokesman said Byrom was “appointed following a rigorous process that included extensive background checks and full transparency”.
“We welcome the appointment of Dr. Byrom, given his wealth of knowledge and experience in cardiothoracic surgery, surgical quality improvement and clinical governance,” they said.
In his most recent roles, Byrom worked at the Gold Coast University Hospital and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in Victoria.
Complaints about his practice emerged in mid-2016 during his stay at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, with three surgeons raising concerns about preventable deaths during or after heart surgery.
An investigation that year found Byrom did not meet expected surgical standards, and he underwent a period of retraining before returning to work the following year.
Further alleged incidents triggered a second investigation, which found serious deficiencies in his practice, and in 2020 the NSW Medical Council imposed extensive conditions on Byrom, restricting him from performing major heart and lung surgery and placing him under strict supervision and retraining.
He was also banned from supervising other doctors and medical students.
The conditions were eventually removed and he currently has no restrictions listed on his medical record with the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency.
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