The incident occurred during a colonoscopy at Mater Hospital in North Sydney in 2018.Credit:Kate Geraghty
According to a judgment by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal,McKay abandoned a colonoscopy after discovering a large mass in the patient’s rectum which he suspected to be a rare tumour. With the patient under anaesthetic,he invited the attending anaesthetist,Dr Hill,to “put your gloves on and have a feel ... it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”.
A nurse then reported seeing Hill put on a pair of gloves and “put one or two fingers into[the patient’s] rectum”,and saw McKay photograph this activity on his mobile phone. According to the judgment,McKay then said:“I’m taking these photos to send to all your anaesthetist mates so they can see you with your fingers stuck up the patient’s arse.”
The nurse reported the incident to a hospital manager at the time,and the following month the Mater informed the medical council it was cancelling McKay’s registration at the hospital due to events that occurred during the colonoscopy.
The council suspended McKay’s registration to practice in February 2019 and referred the matter to the Health Care Complaints Commission,but lifted the suspension later that year with conditions. Separately,the HCCC prosecuted the complaint against McKay,leading to last week’s suspension.
McKay admitted to misleading the hospital – and the patient in a later phone call – by denying he took photographs of the examination and claiming he had only “pretended” to take them.
The surgeon also admitted to an “improper” phone call in which he asked the patient if he wanted Hill’s phone number so that he could tell him he would not press charges.
McKay told the inquiry he was informed the patient had complained to the police and wanted to see if that was true. “He conceded that there had been a self-interest in making the call because he also wanted to find out whether[the patient] was pressing charges against him,” the judgment said.