Dr George Shu-Khim Wong

The Medical Council of NSW has placed conditions on the registration of medical practitioner Dr George Shu-Khim Wong effective from 7 February 2022 following a decision by a s.150 (immediate action) panel. The council has taken this action in order to protect the health and safety of the public and to maintain confidence in the medical profession.

The conditions placed on Dr Wong’s medical registration include requirements to:

• Practise under direct (category A) supervision for all cosmetic surgery procedures to review and discuss his practice with his supervisor with a particular focus on: medical records, consent, patient selection, surgical technique, and complications and outcomes of all cosmetic surgery procedures.
• Practise under category B supervision for all non-surgical medical practice to review and discuss his practice with his supervisor with a particular focus on: clinical matters, ethical matters, consent process, and professionalism.
• Provide the Medical Council with a monthly record of all cosmetic surgery procedures performed.

A full list of the conditions that have been placed on the practitioner’s medical registration is publicly available on the Australian Register of Health Practitioners.

By law, the council cannot release any further details about this decision, including the reasons or any details about the complaints that have prompted this regulatory action.

The Medical Council of NSW has also determined that this matter requires investigation by the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission. The Commission will investigate the complaint to determine whether there is a requirement for consideration of disciplinary action or other measures to protect the public.

The council will not be making any further public comments at this time.

Background

The Medical Council works in collaboration with the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) to receive and manage complaints about registered doctors and medical students in NSW. The council’s paramount legal obligation is to protect the public. We deal with doctors whose conduct, performance or health may represent a risk to the public or is not in the public interest.

We do this by assessing complaints, promoting compliance with professional standards and delivering programs to ensure doctors provide safe care to their patients.

Section 150 or immediate action panels are held by the council when a complaint or notification prompts serious concerns about risk to public safety or the need to otherwise act in the public interest. Panel members include community representatives as well as medical practitioners. These panels are not public under health practitioner laws governing the council. However, should delegates make a formal decision to impose conditions on a medical practitioner or suspend a practitioner, these details are published and available via the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) register of practitioners.

The council does not have the legal power to discipline a NSW medical practitioner or to deregister them. Investigations and decisions relating to potential disciplinary action in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal are the responsibility of the HCCC. Only the Tribunal has the power to make an order to deregister a doctor in NSW.