Retired Brisbane doctor Dr Stellios (Stan) Theodoros is facing 25 allegations of professional misconduct in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT), after being accused of conducting unnecessary intimate examinations on seven women over more than a decade.
The Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO) alleges the former general practitioner and co-owner of Wellers Hill Medical Centre performed pap smears, breast checks and pelvic examinations that were “not clinically indicated, nor reasonably required,” between 2002 and 2015.
He is also accused of kissing one patient on the lips, inappropriately touching another, and asking a woman to strip naked for additional checks.
The OHO further alleges he failed to maintain professional boundaries with five patients, did not exercise reasonable care and skill for three, and kept inadequate medical records for all seven.
A former patient told ABC she felt “violated” by her experiences. “One time, he was doing a breast check and said ‘they’re very soft breasts’. I remember thinking, ‘that’s odd’,” she said. “I feel violated, I do.”
Another patient said she was made to undergo pap smears every six months for up to two years despite a biopsy ruling out any problems.
“The high frequency of pap smears continued beyond the recommended timeframe, and the examinations became more invasive,” she said. “You just trust your doctor.”
Dr Theodoros does not deny the examinations occurred or that records were incomplete, but disputes whether they were clinically necessary and if professional boundaries were breached, according to QCAT documents.
He has attempted to have the proceedings struck out, arguing they are outdated and that he is retired. However, tribunal member David Reid said last year the matter should proceed, noting that disciplining misconduct “does have the effect of promoting the safe and competent conduct of all practitioners.”
Immediate conditions were placed on Dr Theodoros’ registration in 2016, requiring a chaperone when treating women and banning gynaecological procedures. He stopped seeing female patients before the restrictions took effect, retired in 2021, and surrendered his registration in 2022.
Despite his retirement, former patients say they remain frustrated at the length of the process.
“A couple of conditions were slapped on him, and then it’s ignored for years,” Beverley said.
“No-one would volunteer to do it if they knew they didn’t have to.”
Source: ABC.
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