A STORM has erupted on social media in the wake of the candid remarks by Leongatha medico, Dr Chris Webster, about triple mushroom murderer Erin Patterson.

Variously referring to Mrs Patterson, following the trial verdict, in print and in TV interviews, both here and overseas, as a “disturbed sociopathic nut bag” and “a crazy bitch” who killed her in-laws, Dr Webster’s comments have attracted both a positive and negative response. Here are a couple of examples:

The positive comments:

• Dr Chris Webster - glad he could speak publicly; he has carried a huge load this past two years. Knowing immediately that she was guilty as he did after that conversation at the hospital where she acted so inappropriately for an innocent person, he must have been sweating it that she might get away with it.

The middle ground:

• I think he needs some help. He’s clearly been damaged by treating the victims and this isn’t helping him or anyone else.

The negative response:

• Blabbermouth Doctor Chris Webster has opened up about mushroom poisoner Erin Patterson in an extraordinary way. Testimony under oath in a court case is one thing. Making scathing remarks in public media about his impressions of the woman in the hospital environment constitutes, I submit, a breach of doctor-patient confidentiality, irrespective of its factual or observational relationship to his in-court testimony.

And pointed sarcasm too:

• That poor woman! All she did was murder three people and attempted to murder another. I hope she gets out of jail and that bad man doctor who said something nasty should do her jail time.

However, the comments, which might also be seen as testing the boundaries of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency’s code of conduct on patient confidentiality and privacy, have sent the Leongatha Hospital into damage control.

Gippsland Southern Health Service CEO Lou Sparkes issued the following statement on Wednesday afternoon, July 9:

“The mushroom murder trial has thrust our region and our health service into the national and even international spotlight.

“This has been a difficult time for everyone in our community, especially the family and friends of those directly involved.

“For all the attention this case has brought to our region, we need to remember that it relates to the tragic deaths of three local people.

“Our thoughts are with their families and we hope that this week’s verdict brings them some closure.

“It has also been a challenging time for our health service and our staff.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their incredible professionalism in the way they handled the emergency at the time and for how they conducted themselves during the trial.

“The South Gippsland region is very lucky to have such professional and caring healthcare workers.

“We note that this has been a criminal trial, and all GSHS staff called to give evidence have refrained from commenting outside of the courtroom.

“GSHS is proud to be part of the close-knit South Gippsland community and we hope that we can now move ahead with a positive focus on what is so good about our region.”

The AHPRA Medical Board says this with respect to patient confidentiality: “Patients have a right to expect that doctors and their staff will hold information about them in confidence, unless release of information is required or permitted by law.”

However, it also says:

“While there are professional values that underpin good medical practice, all doctors have a right to have and express their personal views and values. However, the boundary between a doctor’s personal and public profile can be blurred. As a doctor, you need to consider the effect of your public comments and your actions outside work, including online, related to medical and clinical issues, and how they reflect on your role as a doctor and on the reputation of the profession.”

Dr Webster appeared in the witness box on Day 7 of the trial, way back on Wednesday, May 7, giving an account of Heather and Ian Wilkinson’s condition, from their admission on Sunday, July 30 at 10.57am, through until everything changed with a phone call from night-shift registrar at Dandenong Hospital Dr Beth Morgan at 7.10am on Monday morning.

She reported that her patients, Don and Gail Patterson, both had grossly abnormal liver function tests and staff at Dandenong were concerned about the possibility of death cap mushroom poisoning.

She gave clear treatment instructions and between them they organised for the transfer of Ian and Heather to Dandenong which happened at about 8.45am.

In the meantime, Erin Patterson presented at Leongatha Hospital at 8.05am and it was Dr Webster who opened the Urgent Care door for her and when she introduced herself as “Erin Patterson” he told the court that he immediately recognised her as the “chef of the meal” as a result of conversations with Heather Wilkinson.

Keen to assist with the treatment of the lunch guests, and given the concern of Dr Morgan that death cap mushrooms were likely involved, he explained his concerns and asked: “where did you get the mushrooms?”

Her reply was a single word: “Woolworths”.

In an interview with the Herald Sun, published on Tuesday, July 8, Dr Webster said he realised in that moment that Erin had caused her in-laws deaths.

“If she had said she picked them, it would have been a very different mindset for me because there would have been an instant assumption it was all a tragic accident,” he said.

He said he thought “holy shit, you did it, you crazy bitch, you poisoned them all.”

Dr Webster asked and got permission from hospital management to call the police for Erin's return, after she left the hospital five minutes after she'd presented with gastro symptons, also organising the collection of food samples from the Pattersons' rubbish bin and initiating the collection of the Patterson children from school after reports from Erin that they had eaten leftovers.

He did the rounds of a number of news services, breaking down on Channel 9’s A Current Affair when speaking about the gracious stoicism of Heather Wilkinson and the bravery of her husband Ian.

“At that point, Ian and Heather left in separate ambulances, and when Ian left, it was still quite hectic. Things had quieted down a little bit when Heather left, and I saw her get pushed into the back of the ambulance with the collapsing trolley, and after the clanging noise of that, she looked at me and said really, very sincerely and humbly and very graciously, thank you for looking after me.”

He recalled his own experience, facing Erin Patterson in the dock, claiming there was “a lot of rage in her eyes when she looked at me”.

In summary, he said “some sad, tragic things have happened and some heroic things have happened”.

“Ian Wilkinson, he's a hero that he turned up to court every day. I like to imagine that the whole time Ian was there, the ghost of Heather was there next to him, saying, you've got this, stay strong. He did, and we won, and I'm happy about that,” said Dr Webster.