Doctor Liu-Ming Schmidt’s registration has been suspended. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
A part-time Griffith Base Hospital doctor has been suspended from practising for six months over a 2019 surgical error at Albury Hospital involving a patient who later died, after she brought out the wrong end of his bowel when forming a stoma and failed to properly monitor him following the operation.
A coronial inquest found the error contributed to his death, alongside other factors.
The Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) sought to have Dr Liu-Ming Schmidt’s registration suspended for one year.
But in a recent decision, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) suspended her registration for six months after finding her guilty of professional misconduct.
“We find that Dr Schmidt’s conduct was of a very serious nature and demonstrated a significant departure from accepted standards,” the tribunal said.
“It is sufficiently serious to justify suspension or cancellation of her registration.”
Dr Schmidt began working as a visiting medical officer in general surgery at Albury Wodonga Health in 2009.
She also worked as a BreastScreen surgeon at BreastScreen NSW and consulted from private rooms at Albury Surgical Group.
In April 2025, Dr Schmidt entered into a 12-month contract as a visiting medical officer in general surgery at Tumut District Hospital. In September 2025, Dr Schmidt started in a permanent part-time position at Griffith Base Hospital.
According to a recent published judgement, HCCC launched proceedings against her following a series of complaints over her treatment of 13 patients.
The tribunal members described her treatment of one patient as being of “particular concern”, after she made a “catastrophic error” during an emergency surgery procedure in 2019.
“She brought out the wrong end of the bowel when she formed the stoma. She caused a complete mechanical bowel obstruction so that the stoma was not capable of passing faecal material,” the decision states.
A coronial inquest found the man died from complications of peritonitis, which were contributed to by Dr Schmidt’s surgical error, as well as a prolonged delay in diagnosing a mechanical bowel obstruction and underlying natural causes.
The tribunal said that while medical mistakes can happen, it was particularly concerned about Dr Schmidt’s failure to closely monitor the patient after surgery and her inconsistent evidence about what happened.
“She has not told us directly how the surgical error occurred and her evidence in relation to how she has addressed the problem refers to courses, supervision and observation of others,” the decision states.
Following concerns about her treatment of other patients, Safer Care Victoria recalled almost 2000 patients who had undergone colonoscopies performed by Dr Schmidt.
About 1000 underwent a repeat colonoscopy, with seven diagnosed with cancer. However, the tribunal noted there was no evidence that any of those cancers were the result of Dr Schmidt failing to identify a problem during the original colonoscopy.
The decision also notes that Dr Schmidt missed an adenocarcinoma in another patient, with another doctor finding the cancer three months later.
Dr Schmidt was also found to have failed to personally assess another patient with a serious bowel obstruction and to ensure she was urgently transferred to a tertiary hospital for surgery.
The tribunal also found that several of Dr Schmidt’s colonoscopies were performed too quickly and that medical records, including photographs taken during colonoscopies, were inadequate.
Dr Schmidt has worked at hospitals across southern NSW and northern Victoria.
The tribunal heard that Dr Schmidt agreed to a “not to practise medicine” condition being added to her registration on 12 January 2023.
She did not work for a year.
In February 2024, the Medical Council decided Dr Schmidt could return to practice, but put conditions on her registration that limited the surgical procedures she could perform.
The council also required her to work under supervision.
The tribunal members rejected Dr Schmidt’s submission that her speed – which they described as being “a much shorter time than the standard” – was due to her experience as a surgeon.
“The evidence before us is to the effect that Dr Schmidt’s training would have informed her that she needed to take longer than she had been taking to do a colonoscopy to ensure thoroughness in checking for abnormalities,” the tribunal said.
The members accepted that Dr Schmidt has been “very diligent” in addressing concerns raised by the HCCC, including by attending webinars, undertaking further education, volunteering and being involved in professional organisations.
“Dr Schmidt says she has been observing and comparing her practice to her colleagues and feels she has now addressed the concerns raised regarding technical expertise and communication,” the members said.
“She seeks feedback from peers and managers, and no concerns have been raised about her technical proficiency or conduct as a practitioner.”
Following the tribunal’s decision, Dr Schmidt’s registration is suspended for six months.
After the suspension, she can return to practice but will remain subject to strict conditions.
She will need to complete the Recertification in Colonoscopy Program and submit an online log of her colonoscopies while undertaking the program until she is recertified.
She must also practise under Category C supervision, with her supervisor required to monitor her colonoscopy performance and surgical practice.
She will also need to pay the HCCC’s costs.
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