Dear Jillian, it was not so long ago when, as the state's
shadow health minister, you were determined to speak about any unfolding
story or issue relating to public health. 



Whether it was cover-up claims at Campbelltown Hospital or
the systemic problems plaguing mental health care, you were always quick
to contact journalists offering comment and feedback. 




Where are you now?



Over the past month, Fairfax Media has published significant
revelations regarding the drug-abusing Nepean Hospital neurosurgeon
Suresh Nair, who was allowed to perform complex surgery on hundreds of
patients over a five-year period despite both the Medical Council of New
South Wales and the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) being
fully aware of his chronic, ongoing cocaine addiction. 




Helen Kerner, David Sheppard, Debbie Burns, Karmen Bradley,
Judy McIntosh and Carla Downes all deserved to be armed with that same
knowledge before Nair wrecked their lives through botched operations
that he performed between all-night cocaine binges with sex workers.



But here is the really hard part to comprehend: We still do
not know how many lives were destroyed – or prematurely ended – by the
doctor’s clinical failures because the very organisations charged with
protecting public health and safety are failing in that role.



Ten days ago, Fairfax Media presented some of Nair’s medical
victims whose distressing stories expose the glaring inadequacies of our
healthcare complaints system. Some have since remarked that when you,
Jillian Skinner, declined to comment, it left them with nowhere to go.



For almost two years, Carla Downes has been refused access to
the findings of a HCCC investigation into her treatment because Nair
chose not to fight the charges of negligence due to be brought against
him. 



Let us put this into perspective: Mrs Downes struggles with a
27 per cent whole body impairment and is on the verge of losing bowel
and bladder function because at some stage during three bungled
operations on her brain and spine Nair was either high as a kite or
suffering the effects of a drug come-down.



A Fairfax investigation has revealed that 10 days after he
performed the second surgery on Mrs Downes, Nair spent $19,640 on an
11-hour cocaine and sex "party pack" inside Sydney brothel Liaisons.
Internal brothel room records, viewed by Fairfax, also show that in
those September weeks either side of Mrs Downes' third botched
procedure, he spent a further $58,000 on sex and drugs at Liaisons.
Those facts are more than she has ever received from the HCCC.



She co-operated fully with its investigation into her care.
She supplied all the scans, medical notes and other case-related
material curiously missing from Nair’s own records. She is resigned to
crawling up her stairs, on her hands and knees, for the rest of her
life. She, and others like her, deserve to know exactly what went wrong.



As a long-standing opposition health minister, you were always vocal during times like these. 



When, in 2008, it emerged that Dr Graeme Reeves, the infamous
Butcher of Bega, had been allowed to continue working within the public
health system despite serious complaints spanning more than a decade,
you called for a full ‘‘public investigation’’, stating: ‘‘Too many
people knew about Dr Reeves’ history and did nothing.’’



You also asked: ‘‘If this doctor can work in NSW hospitals
... then how can patients across the state be confident about their
treatment?’’ 



Perhaps you could explain why that scenario is different to this one?



Nair was singled out in a 2005 Medical Council report as
having ‘‘a severe impairment in the form of cocaine abuse/dependency''.
He failed urine tests. He was the subject of complaints from concerned
colleagues. He was temporarily suspended – twice. Two prostitutes died
of overdoses, months apart in his apartment, because of drugs he
personally supplied. Yet, somehow, he retained his registration and
continued operating right up until November 2010, when detectives
arrested him and charged him with murder.



Five years is an awful long time for a drug-dazed
neurosurgeon to be playing Russian roulette, in a clinical setting, with
patients’ lives. Are those same patients really expected to accept the
findings of a ‘‘review’’ that, a short time later, found that Nepean
Hospital bosses had ‘‘generally managed Nair's impairment issues
appropriately’’?



As the former opposition health spokeswoman six years ago,
you might also recall accusing then-minister Reba Meagher of attempting
to cover up the Reeves scandal. You stated at that time: ‘‘These are
women who are traumatised by the treatment of this doctor, yet the
minister hasn't taken the trouble to do anything until the media
headlines forced her to deal with political embarrassment.’’



It would appear history is now repeating itself. Mrs Downes
and Nair’s other medical victims have called for an independent ‘‘public
investigation’’ of his time at Nepean. They also dare to dream of a
healthcare complaints system that places their interests ahead of those
of disgraced doctors and hospital administrators.



Like Reeves’ victims, they deserve better than bureaucratic silence.



Eamonn Duff is a Fairfax journalist.