Most of the Victorian public have lost faith in their health system and the medical profession. Dr. James Latham Peters infected more than 54 women with Hepatitis C while carrying out their treatment for abortion. It is an infectious disease which is spread through blood, and can be really dangerous as it can also lead to serious liver problems or even cancer.
The police officials said that it is not yet clear how the disease was transmitted as under their inspection no problem was found with the infection control procedure at the clinic.
“That’s precisely why, back in early last year, we referred these matters to the police for further investigation because our investigation could find no plausible reason as to why the infection took place”, Alexander, a Spokesperson for the Victoria state department of health, said.
He faced about 162 charges over this case. After briefly appearing at the magistrates’ court, Dr. Peters was released on a bail of $250,000. Peter’s passport is also under police custody and he is also not allowed to work with any medical or health related hospital or clinic as per the conditions on which he got bail. The people affected can also possibly demand a compensation bill of up to $21million by claiming personal injuries of about $430,000.