Former patients of killer India-born surgeon Jayant Patel, dubbed as Dr Death, have welcomed the seven-year jail sentence handed down by the Queensland Supreme Court

7 years jail for Dr Death

Former patients of killer India-born surgeon Jayant Patel, dubbed as Dr Death, have welcomed the seven-year jail sentence handed down by the Queensland Supreme Court.

Patel (60) was sentenced yesterday to seven years in jail over botched surgeries that left three of his patients dead and another without a bowel. On Tuesday, he was found guilty of three charges of manslaughter and one count of grievous bodily harm after a 14-week trial.

The president of the Bundaberg Hospital Patients Support Group, Beryl Crosby, said she was "fine" with the sentence. "I have had contact from some of the patients straight away and they said they are happy with that too," Crosby said. "It was the guilty verdict we needed. The sentencing didn't bother us too much."

However, Bundaberg MP Rob Messenger, who first raised concerns about Patel in state Parliament in March 2005, was less forgiving, saying the sentence was "totally inadequate".

"We'd been hoping for a decision that would restore our faith in the Queensland legal system," Messenger said. "The police did their job, the prosecutors did their job, the jury did their job and I'll leave it at that."

Patient's kin upset
Patel had previously practised in the US. The family of one of his patients said they would campaign for American authorities to charge him on release.

"What? Oh, that's just wrong," said Sandrah Ickert, whose mother, Marie Mesecher, died after Patel operated on her in a hospital in Portland, Oregon in 1997 to remove a tumour.

Ickert was hoping Queensland Supreme Court Justice John Byrne would sentence Patel to the maximum of life in jail.

"There is no denying the gravity of your offending [and] your repeated serious disregard for the welfare of the four patients,"Justice Byrne said.

Patel had pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of James Phillips (46), Gerry Kemps (77), and Mervyn Morris, (75). He had also pleaded not guilty to the grievous bodily harm of Ian Vowles, whose healthy bowel he removed in October 2004.

Justice Byrne acknowledged prison would be difficult for Patel, as his family lives in America.

''Your familyu00a0... will not be here to support you through the ordeal of imprisonment, except for an occasional visit,'' he said.

''Your notoriety will also make prison life stressful.''

Patel's wife, Kishoree Patel, did not comment to media as she left the court building.

His lawyers refused to say whether or not they would lodge an appeal.

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