Former Wollongong Hospital doctor banned from practising medicine

Paul Labana has not practised in four years but he is now formally banned from working in healthcare for at least two years after the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) found him guilty of professional misconduct and unsatisfactory professional conduct.

One of the complaints brought by the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) as they sought Labana's deregistration related to his criminal convictions.

Labana pleaded guilty in 2020 to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and re-entering a licensed premises after being excluded in relation to an incident in February that year.

He pushed over a security guard who was ushering him out of a Thirroul pub he'd earlier been removed from and as a result the woman broke both wrists and sustained other injuries.

In November that same year, Labana punched his boyfriend multiple times in the face during an argument.

He pleaded not guilty on the basis of self-defence but was ultimately convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The HCCC also said Labana failed to notify the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency of his charges on two occasions within seven days, as required, and failed to notify the agency of his second conviction within seven days.

NCAT upheld this complaint.

The tribunal also found Labana failed to submit to random urine drug testing on five occasions after conditions were imposed on his registration in late 2020 following concerns about substance use.

"It is disturbing that, very shortly after the imposition of the condition on his registration in relation to drug testing, the practitioner was already non-compliant with that condition," NCAT said in its decision.

In its decision the tribunal noted prior incidents from 2018 and 2019 in which Labana belittled and intimidated younger female colleagues, the first of which resulted in a suspension and the second in him getting fired.

The HCCC had originally argued Labana also suffered from "mental impairment" that affected his ability to practise but abandoned this complaint because Labana refused to cooperate in an updated mental health assessment.

However, NCAT referred to expert reports from 2020 and 2021, which outlined a diagnosis of major depressive disorder and concerns about alcohol use.

One report described Labana's history of suffering abuse and racial bullying as a child, witnessing domestic violence, and other traumatic events, including the deaths of a close friend and his nephew.

The tribunal said it was unable to reach a conclusion about his current state but at least a year ago, Labana himself felt his mental health meant he could not practise medicine.

"We have concluded that when all the history and surrounding circumstances are taken into account, the finding of professional misconduct in this case is sufficiently serious to warrant a cancellation of the practitioner's registration," NCAT said.

The cancellation has a non-review period of two years.