KEY POINTS:
Wanganui Mayor Michael Laws has hit out at the Whanganui District Health Board for not being open about a gynaecologist who botched sterilisation operations.
Dr Roman Hasil resigned from Wanganui Hospital on Monday after an investigation found up to six of 32 women he had sterilised had become pregnant.
Mr Laws criticised the DHB's decision last week not to release Dr Hasil's name.
"The public of Wanganui are entitled to know who the guilty surgeon is so that those women who have had operations by this man can check the validity of those procedures," Mr Laws said. "Just because you're not pregnant now doesn't mean you won't be in the future if there has been a bungled procedure."
Mr Laws said the DHB was not open in its dealings with the Wanganui public.
He said if Dr Hasil had been proven incompetent in a relatively minor surgical procedure, then it begged the question of what other surgery he had performed that did not meet acceptable standards.
A former colleague has said Dr Hasil could not perform even the most basic surgery.
DHB board member Dr Clive Solomon told the Wanganui Chronicle the laparoscopic sterilisation performed by Dr Hasil was the "easiest operation in the world".
"If he can't do a basic obstetric surgery, what about the decisions he's made in outpatients? For someone who is supposed to be a specialist obstetrician it's like crossing the road."
Dr Solomon planned to write to the Health and Disability Commissioner, requesting an investigation of the hospital.
He resigned from his surgical position at the hospital last year on grounds it was "too dangerous" professionally to stay.
Dr Hasil was employed at the hospital from August 2005, but he had been on leave since October last year.
He performed 32 sterilisations through "keyhole" surgery, which involved placing metal clips on both fallopian tubes in order to prevent the egg from reaching the womb and being fertilised.
DHB spokeswoman Jo Greig said 20 of the 32 women had seen another gynaecologist to look at options.
"Through this whole thing the women have come first. We've been offering them counselling, paying for the doctors visits and anything associated with that."
Ms Greig said the DHB was "extremely concerned about the situation".
"As soon as we knew there was a problem the audit began," she said.
The audit was continuing.
- NZPA
