Health Ombudsman v Warren

QUEENSLAND CIVIL AND
ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL

CITATION:

Health Ombudsman v Warren [2023] QCAT 187

PARTIES:

HEALTH OMBUDSMAN

(applicant)

v

KAJA FRANCESCA WARREN

(respondent)

APPLICATION NO/S:

OCR162-19

MATTER TYPE:

Occupational regulation matters

DELIVERED ON:

22 March 2023 (ex tempore)

HEARING DATE:

22 March 2023

HEARD AT:

Brisbane

DECISION OF:

Judicial Member R Jones

Assisted by:

Mr Ross Ashcroft
Mr Brent Dixon
Ms Laura Dyer

ORDERS:

1.     That in respect of ground 1 of the referral, the respondent behaved in a way that constituted professional misconduct.

2.     That in respect of grounds 2 and 3 of the referral, the respondent behaved in a way that constituted unprofessional conduct but limited only to the breach of bail involving the assault.

3.     That in respect of grounds 4, 5 and 6 of the referral, the respondent behaved in a way that constituted unprofessional conduct.

4.     The respondent is reprimanded.

5.     The respondent is disqualified from applying for registration as a health practitioner for a period of 2 years.

6.     The respondent is prohibited from providing a health service in a clinical or non-clinical capacity to patients under the age of 18 years until such a time as she obtains registration as a health practitioner.

7.     Each party is to bear their own costs of the proceeding.

CATCHWORDS:

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW TRIBUNALS – QUEENSLAND CIVIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL – where the Tribunal previously heard and determined a matter – where it has since become apparent that the Tribunal was not properly constituted – where the Tribunal has been constituted to re-hear and re-determine the matter – whether the orders previously purported to have been made remain appropriate

Health Ombudsman v Warren [2022] QCAT 124

APPEARANCES & REPRESENTATION:

Applicant:

N Townsend (legal officer) for the applicant.

Respondent:

There was no appearance by or on behalf of the respondent.

REASONS FOR DECISION

On the 6th of April 2022, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, constituted by me, dealt with the matter of the Health Ombudsman v Kaja Francesca Warren. On 20 April 2022, the Tribunal handed down its reasons, and made a number of findings and orders.[1] For reasons beyond the control of the parties, unfortunately, the Tribunal was not properly constituted on that date, 6 April 2022. The result is that the purported decision of the Tribunal of 20 April 2022 is null and void. The issue regarding the constitution of the Tribunal has now been rectified, and the Tribunal sits today with a properly constituted panel.
[1]Health Ombudsman v Warren [2022] QCAT 124.
The Tribunal has reviewed the material previously before the Tribunal, and also the reasons given by the Tribunal on 20 April 2022. Save for some relatively minor variations, the Tribunal considers that the findings and orders made on 20 April 2022 remain appropriate.
There are two variations to the orders made. In order 5, made on 20 April 2022, the respondent was disqualified from applying for registration as a health practitioner for a period of three years. One year has already all but elapsed. Accordingly, the Tribunal considers – and we would note, with gratitude, that the Health Ombudsman agrees – that it would now be appropriate to limit that disqualification period to a period of two years. The only other variation to the orders made originally is that order 7 – that the interim prohibition order of the Health Ombudsman dated 23 May 2016 be set aside –is now redundant, because that has now occurred.
Accordingly, for the reasons given, and for the reasons given on 20 April 2022, the Tribunal finds and orders as follows:
1.That in respect of ground 1 of the referral, the respondent behaved in a way that constituted professional misconduct.
2.That in respect of grounds 2 and 3 of the referral, the respondent behaved in a way that constituted unprofessional conduct but limited only to the breach of bail involving the assault.
3.That in respect of grounds 4, 5 and 6 of the referral, the respondent behaved in a way that constituted unprofessional conduct.
4.The respondent is reprimanded.
5.The respondent is disqualified from applying for registration as a health practitioner for a period of 2 years.
6.The respondent is prohibited from providing a health service in a clinical or non-clinical capacity to patients under the age of 18 years until such a time as she obtains registration as a health practitioner.
7.Each party is to bear their own costs of the proceeding.

The case of Health Ombudsman v Warren before the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) concerns allegations of professional misconduct and unprofessional conduct against Kaja Francesca Warren, a health practitioner. The Health Ombudsman referred several complaints against Warren to QCAT, which were previously heard on 6 April 2022. However, due to a procedural issue, the Tribunal was not properly constituted at the time, rendering the decision null and void. The matter was subsequently re-heard and determined by a properly constituted Tribunal panel.

The legal issues before the Tribunal involved determining whether the previous findings and orders made by the Tribunal on 20 April 2022 remained appropriate, given the Tribunal's improper constitution on the original date. The Tribunal reviewed the material and reasons from the prior hearing and considered whether any variations were necessary to the original findings and orders.

The Tribunal found that the findings and orders made on 20 April 2022 remained appropriate, with only minor variations. The Tribunal reduced the disqualification period for the respondent from three years to two years, as almost a year had already elapsed. Additionally, the Tribunal noted that the interim prohibition order of the Health Ombudsman dated 23 May 2016 was now redundant, so the order to set aside that prohibition was no longer necessary. Consequently, the Tribunal confirmed the findings of professional misconduct and unprofessional conduct against the respondent and maintained the original orders with the aforementioned variations.

The final orders of the Tribunal include a reprimand for the respondent, a two-year disqualification from applying for registration as a health practitioner, and a prohibition on providing health services to patients under 18 years of age until registration is obtained. Each party is to bear their own costs of the proceeding.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established