Queensland doctor’s negligence leads to patient d3:ath: Discharged patient after assessing her only by phone
A harrowing medical tragedy that has stunned the Queensland public has reached a definitive conclusion following the release of a 49-page finding by Deputy State Coroner Stephanie Gallagher. The report exposes grave professional failures and a shocking level of negligence in the care provided by prominent surgeon Dr. Reza Adib, which directly led to the preventable death of 62-year-old grandmother Rosemarie Campbell in February 2022.
A Cascade of Fatal Errors
Rosemarie Campbell, a Gold Coast resident, underwent a high-risk gastric bypass procedure at Brisbane’s Wesley Hospital under the care of Dr. Adib. Instead of receiving the attentive post-operative care required for such a complex surgery, Ms. Campbell suffered severe complications, including acute bacterial peritonitis and pneumonia, shortly after being moved out of the operating room.
The most damning aspect of the coroner’s report concerns Dr. Adib’s decision to discharge the patient. Despite Ms. Campbell exhibiting persistent vomiting and clear clinical signs of distress that necessitated vigilant monitoring, Dr. Adib authorized her discharge. Alarmingly, this life-altering decision was made based on remote updates provided by nursing staff via telephone, rather than a personal bedside assessment. In her findings, Coroner Gallagher stated: “The coroner found she may still be alive had she not been discharged from hospital days after the procedure.”
Questionable Ethics and Allegations of Deception
The report goes beyond clinical errors, dismantling the professional integrity of the surgeon. Ms. Campbell had previously undergone successful weight-loss surgery in 2020; however, when she returned in 2022 complaining of reflux, Dr. Adib fast-tracked a gastric bypass procedure just 10 days after the initial consultation. Regarding this trajectory, Coroner Gallagher remarked: “I consider the surgery was rushed… It was not urgent, in a clinical sense.”
Furthermore, Dr. Adib’s transparency has been brought into sharp focus following revelations that he penned a fraudulent letter to facilitate Ms. Campbell’s early access to superannuation funds to pay for the surgery. In the document, he deliberately mischaracterized her obesity as a “life-threatening” condition, a claim unsupported by medical evidence. On this matter, Gallagher noted: “I would accept that Adib knew the falsity of it when he signed it.”
Systemic Failures in Record-Keeping and Professional Credibility
The Deputy State Coroner’s report further unmasked a “disturbing tendency” by Dr. Adib to engage in the substantial exaggeration of his surgical practices. His medical records were found to be fragmented, dishonest, and heavily reliant on pre-filled templates that failed to accurately reflect the actual care provided. His practice of billing Medicare under codes that did not correspond to the patient’s clinical reality was further evidence of a systemic lack of integrity.
Coroner Gallagher concluded that there had been “considerable carelessness and indeed deception” in the manner in which Dr. Adib arranged, performed, and documented the procedure.
An Uncertain Future Amidst Serious Legal Charges
The situation has become increasingly volatile for Dr. Adib—who is the partner of former Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk—as his medical career now hangs in the balance. His medical registration has been suspended by the Medical Board of Australia as he faces unrelated charges of rape. While Dr. Adib has publicly declared his intent to contest those allegations, the coroner’s findings have left an indelible stain on his professional reputation. In response to the tragedy, Wesley Hospital has since implemented mandatory improvements to their discharge protocols and clinical processes to ensure such a catastrophe is never repeated.
