Updated ,first published
Victoria’s health minister is demanding changes to prevent a repeat of the federal regulator failing to alert a private hospital group that it was investigating claims a gynaecologist performed unnecessary surgery.
Dr Simon Gordon is under investigation by the regulator over allegations he performed endometriosis surgery, including removing women’s ovaries and uterus, despite no clinical evidence justifying the procedures.
Premier Jacinta Allan, who admitted the accusations had shattered confidence in the state’s healthcare system, referred them to police on Tuesday morning. Police confirmed they were assessing her referral.
Gordon, who retired from Epworth HealthCare late last year and surrendered his medical registration last month, denies the allegations.
This masthead revealed the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency had been investigating Gordon for months before senior Epworth management became aware of the investigation.
Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas called for national changes to allow AHPRA to notify hospital management when an investigation was launched.
“It makes no sense whatsoever. An employer needs to know if one of their senior doctors is being investigated by AHPRA,” Thomas said.
She later said she would raise the matter at the next national health ministers’ meeting.
Sources familiar with the matter, who were not authorised to speak publicly, said that behind the scenes the hospital group and the regulator were pointing fingers at each other over failures to pass on information and complaints about Gordon in a timely manner.
In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, AHPRA said it was “working with other parties to consider how, in some circumstances, greater information-sharing during an active investigation might be achieved between the regulator and organisations that employ, or make facilities available to, practitioners, whilst meeting our legal obligations for confidentiality and fairness”.
The move was cautiously welcomed by medical groups.
“We have consistently called for more effective communication between regulators, employers and colleges,” a spokeswoman for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons said. “However, there must be an appropriate balance between patient protection and procedural fairness, and it is important to remember that an investigation is not a finding of wrongdoing.”
Epworth has launched an independent inquiry into the allegations, and law firms are considering a class action after being approached by more than 120 women. The state government’s Safer Care Victoria will now sit on the review panel into governance at Epworth, where Gordon was partially based.
Allan, who has been diagnosed with endometriosis and struggled to access treatment, described the allegations of unnecessary surgeries as heartbreaking.
“To have their lives ruined by these procedures is just simply devastating,” she said. “Women deserve answers. These victims deserve justice.
“My reaction was the reaction, I am sure, of women right across Victoria, particularly those women who, like me, have had their own experiences and challenges in both getting treated for endometriosis and needing to go through surgical procedures like laparoscopy.
“Every woman deserves to feel confident about accessing her healthcare. The allegations against this surgeon shatter that confidence. These victims, they deserve justice.”
Allan said she was determined to restore public confidence “in a system women rely on”.
“There are too many men who think they can dismiss a woman’s pain,” she said.
Allan confirmed the government had referred the allegations against Gordon to police on Tuesday morning.
“Performing unnecessary surgeries is a crime,” the premier said.
“That is why it needs to be investigated by Victoria Police. Removing a woman’s organs without an identified clinical need is a crime.”
Allan asked any women who had concerns about treatment by Gordon to report it to AHPRA.
“It is apparent there are some systemic issues in the private health system. The reporting regimes need to be strengthened.”
Thomas, the health minister, said she would convene a roundtable of medical colleges to discuss ending what she described as a “culture of senior and powerful doctors protecting other senior and powerful doctors”.
“It’s time for the colleges, who set the culture, to take real action,” the health minister said.
AHPRA, which had received several complaints about Gordon, also came under fire from the minister. “What is clear to me through this investigation is that AHPRA have been too slow to act, and that they have not taken the complaints of women seriously,” she said.
AHPRA on Tuesday wrote to Epworth, asking it to remind doctors they had a mandatory obligation to report concerning conduct by their colleagues.
Allan also announced there would be standardised guidelines for how endometriosis is diagnosed. Safer Care Victoria will develop these. She said invasive laparoscopic surgery was often the first tool used to diagnose endometriosis, when a less invasive ultrasound was often a better alternative.
“That less invasive approach of performing an ultrasound on a woman should be that first step for diagnosing endometriosis,” she said.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists already offers guidelines for treating endometriosis. Thomas said the additional guidelines were “about reinforcing the standards of clinical practice we expect to see delivered by clinicians here in Victoria”.
The college’s president, Dr Nisha Khot, said new guidelines were not the answer. She said the college’s existing guidelines were based on the latest evidence, regularly updated and already recommended the use of ultrasound to diagnose endometriosis.
“What is required is not more guidelines, but funding to implement these guidelines widely and accountability and governance standards to ensure the guidelines are being implemented and followed,” she said.
Khot said there was currently no standardised training program for sonographers to ensure that they can perform specialised ultrasounds to diagnose endometriosis.
“This needs addressing if women are to have good quality US scans for the diagnosis of endometriosis.”
While practitioners are advised to tell their employer if they are being investigated by AHPRA, Khot said the watchdog should also notify employers of current investigations into their staff. She said AHPRA should also make it a requirement for practitioners to inform their employers if they are being investigated, not just advice.
Visiting medical officers such as Gordon are required to tell Epworth if they are under investigation as part of their accreditation with the hospital group.
Isabelle Metaxotos, who recently told this masthead Gordon unnecessarily removed her functional left ovary and fallopian tube, welcomed the government’s announcement.
“It’s a relief that someone is finally listening,” she said. “It’s also daunting knowing that police might be involved.”
Despite her trauma, the 26-year-old remains an advocate for proper care, urging women not to fear surgical intervention. “It is still the gold standard for endometriosis treatment,” she said. She is now calling for increased research and specialised training for practitioners treating the debilitating condition.
While medical records confirm endometriosis was present during Metaxotos’ initial procedure, no disease was detected in her subsequent two operations. Her organs were ultimately removed during the third operation, in 2025.
The government also announced that additional training would be provided to doctors to help them recognise and treat endometriosis.
“We must continue to lift the understanding of this illness,” the premier said. She said she was considering a certification – “a pink tick” – for clinicians who were trained in diagnosing and treating endometriosis.
“We are going to need to do more work on supporting women have their pain believed, heard and treated,” Allan said.
She said suggestions the case might point to a broader issue of over-treating women for endometriosis “don’t really go to the issue here”.
“The issue here is women’s pain is real. Women’s pain needs to be understood and treated appropriately,” she said.
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Liam Mannix is The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald’s national science reporter.Connect via X or email.
Henrietta Cook is a senior reporter covering health for The Age. Henrietta joined The Age in 2012 and has previously covered state politics, education and consumer affairs.Connect via X, Facebook or email.
