0/5

Qld company denies claims levelled at Operation Thailand

Qld group denies breaching AHPRA code of conduct, because it has a separate company for Thai procedures.

A Queensland company which has partnered with Nine’s new observational series Operation Thailand has denied breaching Australian health and advertising guidelines.

The series, produced by WTFN (Bondi Vet, The Living Room, Ask the Doctor) follows Australians who travel to Thailand for luxury surgery procedures. Premiering earlier this month, the production partners with CosMediTour (Consulting) Pty Ltd.

But Dr Michael Rich, a Melbourne dermatologist with the Australasian College of Dermatologists, told News Corp, “On the show, an agent booked the surgery. The patient didn’t even meet the surgeon before surgery so there was no opportunity for the patient to seek a second opinion or contemplate the opinion of the surgeon. In one case the patient had to make a major decision about which surgery to have on the spot.”

He also said the show also promotes CosMediTour and offers gifts to patients for using their service.

But TV Tonight can reveal CosMediTour operates separate companies for its Australian and Thai procedures.

Marketing Director Greg Lemon said in a statement its Australian company, Cosmeditour Australia Pty Limited, complies with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency code of conduct.

“However, the company that deals with our Thailand surgeries, and handled all Operation Thailand patients, is CosMediTour (Consulting) Pty Ltd – and its activities are NOT subject to any AHPRA code of conduct,” he said.

“We established these separate companies with legal advice from TressCox, Australia’s leading national law firm for the healthcare sector.”

Lemon denied any negligence on the part of CosMediTour and surgeons in Thailand.

“As such we are not in any breach, and by association neither are WTFN and the Nine Network.”

2 Responses

Leave a Reply