In the quiet corridors of regional New South Wales hospitals, a pattern of clinical failures unfolded over seventeen years before the weight of consequence finally came to rest. A tribunal has suspended surgeon Dr Liu-Ming Schmidt for six months after finding her guilty of professional misconduct across thirteen patient cases — failures that include a missed cancer, a surgical error linked to a patient's death, and years of inadequate record-keeping that left nearly two thousand patients uncertain of their own health. The ruling is both a reckoning for one practitioner and a reminder of how lo
NSW surgeon's registration suspended for six months after 13 patient complaints
One patient died from complications following surgical error; another patient's cancer diagnosis was delayed three months; approximately 1,000 patients required repeat colonoscopies.
A catastrophic error that the patient never knew about
Mark
What strikes you most about this case?
Mimi
That it took so long. Seventeen years across four hospitals, and it took a formal investigation to surface the pattern. One patient died. Another's cancer was delayed three months. How many smaller harms went unnoticed?
Mark
The tribunal said she was "diligent" in addressing concerns. Does that matter?
Mimi
It matters for rehabilitation, maybe. But it doesn't undo anything. Diligence in response isn't the same as diligence in practice. The real question is why she wasn't diligent in the first place—why she rushed colonoscopies, why she didn't keep proper notes.
Mark
The recall of 2,000 patients—that's a massive logistical undertaking. What does that tell us?
Mimi
It tells us the system was reactive, not preventive. If oversight had been tighter, if someone had noticed she wasn't taking adequate time or keeping records, you don't need to recall 2,000 people. You catch it early.
Mark
Do you think six months is enough?
Mimi
I don't know. The tribunal imposed it, and they heard everything. But the real test is what happens when she comes back. Will she practice differently? Will the supervision actually change her behavior? That's where the real accountability lives.
Mark
What about the patients who had to have repeat procedures?
Mimi
They got a second chance at safety. But they also got a reminder that their care depends on someone else's attention to detail, and that attention failed them once already.
Der Puls
- A patient died following a 2019 bowel surgery after Schmidt made what the tribunal called a catastrophic error — and was never told of the mistake before her death.
- A large colon cancer went undetected during a 2022 colonoscopy, leaving a patient without diagnosis for three months until another surgeon found it.
- Nearly 2,000 colonoscopy patients were recalled by Safer Care Victoria, with roughly 1,000 requiring repeat procedures to rule out missed cancers — a mass disruption born from years of rushed, under-documented work.
- The tribunal found Schmidt's insight into her own conduct and its impact on patients to be insufficient, raising doubts about whether accountability has been fully internalised.
- Schmidt now faces a six-month suspension on top of a prior one-year ban, mandatory retraining, supervised practice upon return, and an order to cover the regulator's legal costs.
In the quiet corridors of regional New South Wales hospitals, a pattern of clinical failures unfolded over seventeen years before the weight of consequence finally came to rest. A tribunal has suspended surgeon Dr Liu-Ming Schmidt for six months after finding her guilty of professional misconduct across thirteen patient cases — failures that include a missed cancer, a surgical error linked to a patient's death, and years of inadequate record-keeping that left nearly two thousand patients uncertain of their own health. The ruling is both a reckoning for one practitioner and a reminder of how long systemic failures can persist before the institutions meant to protect patients are moved to act.
Dr Liu-Ming Schmidt has been suspended from medical practice for six months after a NSW tribunal found her guilty of professional misconduct affecting at least thirteen patients across four regional hospitals over a seventeen-year career. The Health Care Complaints Commission's investigation revealed a sustained pattern of serious failures, and Schmidt must now complete retraining and accept supervision before she can return to practice.
The gravest case dates to 2019, when Schmidt performed emergency bowel surgery at Albury Hospital and made what the tribunal described as a catastrophic error. The patient died nearly four weeks later from complications a NSW coroner partly attributed to that mistake — and Schmidt never disclosed the error to her. In 2022, Schmidt failed to identify a large colon cancer during a colonoscopy; another surgeon found it three months later. A third case involved a patient with bowel obstruction whose management the tribunal found wholly unacceptable.
Beneath these individual tragedies lay a broader institutional failure. Between 2015 and 2021, Schmidt admitted she did not allow adequate time for colonoscopies or capture proper images at Wodonga Hospital, and her patient records were consistently inadequate. The fallout was wide: Safer Care Victoria recalled close to 2,000 of her colonoscopy patients, and around 1,000 underwent repeat procedures to check for missed conditions.
The tribunal acknowledged Schmidt's efforts to address concerns raised during the investigation but stopped short of confidence in her self-awareness. She had already accepted a one-year ban in early 2023 before this ruling added a further six months. For the family of the patient who died, for the person whose cancer diagnosis was delayed, and for the thousand people who returned for repeat procedures, the harm was neither abstract nor undone by the suspension. The ruling stands as a formal acknowledgment that the system was too slow to intervene.
Dr Liu-Ming Schmidt has been barred from practicing medicine for six months after a tribunal found her guilty of professional misconduct spanning more than a decade and affecting at least 13 patients across four hospitals in southern New South Wales.
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal's decision followed an investigation by the Health Care Complaints Commission that uncovered a pattern of serious lapses: a missed cancer diagnosis, a surgical error that contributed directly to a patient's death, inadequate record-keeping, and failures in basic clinical oversight. Schmidt, who has worked at Albury Wodonga Health, BreastScreen NSW, Tumut District Hospital, and Griffith Base Hospital over 17 years, now faces mandatory retraining and supervision before she can resume her career.
The most consequential case involved a 2019 emergency bowel surgery at Albury Hospital. Schmidt performed the operation to address a bowel obstruction but made what the tribunal described as a catastrophic error. The patient died nearly four weeks later from complications that a NSW coroner later attributed in part to the surgical mistake. Schmidt did not disclose the error to the patient. In another instance, during a 2022 colonoscopy, Schmidt failed to spot a large cancer in a patient's colon. A different surgeon identified it three months later during a repeat procedure. A third complaint centered on a patient with bowel obstruction whom Schmidt failed to manage appropriately, with the tribunal finding her "engagement, oversight and direct involvement was unacceptable."
Beyond these individual cases lies a broader institutional failure. Between 2015 and 2021, Schmidt admitted she did not allocate sufficient time to perform colonoscopies or capture proper images at Wodonga Hospital. She also failed to maintain adequate patient records and notes. The consequences rippled outward: Safer Care Victoria recalled nearly 2,000 of her colonoscopy patients, and approximately 1,000 of them underwent repeat procedures to ensure no cancers or other serious conditions had been missed.
The tribunal acknowledged that Schmidt had worked diligently to address concerns raised during the investigation. However, it expressed reservations about her understanding of her own conduct and its impact. In January 2023, before this formal proceeding concluded, Schmidt had already agreed to a one-year ban on practicing medicine following one of the complaints. Now, with the tribunal's ruling, she faces an additional six-month suspension. She has also been ordered to pay the HCCC's legal costs and must complete further training and accept supervision when her registration is restored.
The case underscores the vulnerability of patients who depend on specialists to catch what others might miss. For the patient whose cancer went undiagnosed for three months, for the family of the patient who died after surgery, and for the thousand people who had to return for repeat colonoscopies, the consequences of these oversights were neither abstract nor reversible. Schmidt's suspension is now a matter of public record, a formal acknowledgment that the system failed to catch these problems sooner.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Her engagement, oversight and direct involvement was unacceptable— NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, regarding Schmidt's management of a bowel obstruction patient
The tribunal noted concerns about her insight into her conduct— NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision
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