A doctor has been disqualified for a year and prohibited to provide any medical services after it was found by the ACT Civil and Administrative tribunal that he made racist comments.
The doctor, whose name has been suppressed sent a racist email to Yuggera, Warangoo and Wiradjuri eye doctor Kris Rallah-Baker, disputing his Aboriginality.
In July last year, the Queensland-based Ophthalmologist said he received an email from a Canberra GP “he never even knew existed.”
"It was a pretty horrific email complete with pictures," Dr Rallah-Baker told NITV.
Racism in the healthcare system contributes to patient harm and premature death.
He said the he worries for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who may be in a more vulnerable position than he is.
"What I'm worried about is people who are underprivileged and do not have a voice and not aware of the systems as I am," he said.
The Australian Medical Board found the email used “offensive and discriminatory comments” to question Dr Rallah Baker’s Aboriginality.
The board found the GP’s "past disciplinary history reveals that these personality traits have led to interpersonal conflict with others, including patients”.
During the inquiry, the doctor continued to racially vilify Dr Rallah Baker and lashed out at the medical board.
The doctor said the agency's board was "a pack of f***wits" and questioned the legitimacy of Dr Rallah-Baker's complaint.
The tribunal observed that the doctor had not shown remorse, reporting him as having a "personality with cognitive rigidity and a difficulty in understanding others' emotional responses to his actions".
Addressing institutional racism in Australia's healthcare system
The Australian Medical Board says the ruling is a step towards “dismantling all forms of racism in Australia’s healthcare system.”
However, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Strategy Unit (HSU) urged there to be further legislative reform to address the institutional racism evident in Australia's healthcare system.
HSU National Director Gomeroi woman Jayde Fuller said that the result of the tribunal validates what often experience.
"This outcome is vindicating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples whose experiences of racism in healthcare settings, as a consumer or practitioner are minimised or refuted entirely," she said.
Ms Fuller also alluded to the role of the newly established Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander National Special Issues Committee in addressing systemic racism.
"The active recruitment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff handling complaints involving us, and a dedicated Indigenous led working group to reform the cultural safety of the complaints processes – we have a clear path forward to tackling racism in healthcare towards our people," she said.
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