Dr William Russell Massingham Pridgeon

The NSW Court of Appeal has allowed Dr William Russell Massingham Pridgeon’s appeal against the suspension of his registration, which was imposed by the Medical Council of NSW on 29 October 2018 and upheld by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal on 30 June 2021.

The council had taken action in 2018 to suspend Dr Pridgeon’s registration. This decision was made with the intention of protecting the health and safety of the public, the public interest and to maintain confidence in the medical profession, pending the resolution of serious charges laid against him.

Following the decision made by the NSW Court of Appeal on 14 April 2022, Dr Pridgeon can resume practice. His practitioner details have been updated on the public register by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) to reflect the suspension being lifted.

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 urgent 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.