I brought a libel action in the Supreme Court of Victoria at Melbourne against 15 plastic surgeons of the Royal Melbourne Hospital. All 15 are Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, including the Head of Unit Professor Mark Ashton FRACS. The libel action followed their publication of a letter dated 22 May 2013 authored on Royal Melbourne Hospital letterhead and sent to Mr Peter Dohrmann FRACS, Clinical Director International Medical Graduate Assessments at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS).

The letter was sent immediately prior to my then scheduled Specialist Assessment interview, replacing that chaired by Mr Julian Peters FRACS, plastic surgeon at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and International Medical Graduate Representative to the Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of RACS on 11 October 2012.

The libel action has now been settled on terms satisfactory to me. The terms of settlement remain confidential, save that an apology on Royal Melbourne Hospital letterhead, dated 9 December 2015 and signed by the respondents Professor Mark Ashton FRACS, Mr Julian Peters FRACS, Ms Kirstie MacGill FRACS and Mr Dean Trotter FRACS is not confidential, along with the fact that the apology was required to be not confidential and is required to be sent to Mr Dohrmann FRACS and all of the remaining eleven authors.

I am very pleased with the apology as I consider that it is not only appropriate but also goes to restoring my reputation. Here is the apology.

Mr Patrick Tansley

MD FRCS (Eng) FRCS (Plast)