A junior doctor has been arrested for allegedly filming his colleagues after a camera was found inside a staff toilet at a hospital in Melbourne.
The 27-year-old was working as a trainee surgeon at The Austin Hospital, in Melbourne’s northeastern suburb of Heidelberg.
Officers from the Mernda Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Investigations Team arrested him on Thursday following a raid of his home in Heidelberg West.
Police explained that an investigation was launched after a phone was allegedly found inside a staff toilet at the hospital on July 3.
It is further alleged that the phone had been in the bathroom for a significant amount of time.
‘It is alleged a recording device in the form of a mobile phone was located in a restricted staff toilet of a medical facility in Heidelberg on July 3,’ Victoria Police said.
‘The device is believed to have been in place for some time before staff became aware and reported the matter.’
It is understood that the toilet where the phone was allegedly placed was marked as staff-only and was not accessible to the hospital’s patients or the general public.
Investigators arrested the 27-year-old trainee surgeon on Thursday after a phone was allegedly found inside a staff bathroom at The Austin Hospital in Melbourne
It is understood the bathroom was for staff only and The Austin Hospital’s (pictured) patients or the general public were unable to access it
Investigators are currently interviewing the 27-year-old.
A spokesperson for Austin Health told Daily Mail Australia a formal report was made to Victoria Police.
‘We take the safety and wellbeing of our staff extremely seriously and recently made a formal report to Victoria Police,’ the Austin Health spokesperson said.
‘As this matter is now with the Police, we are not able to share more information about the nature of the report.’
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) – a regulatory body which has the authority to suspend healthcare practitioners who pose a risk to others – has yet to take action against the doctor, The Herald Sun reported.
However, it is understood the agency is set to review the case soon and decide on whether action will be taken against the doctor’s registration.
Healthcare practitioners in Australia are required by law to notify AHPRA if they are charged with an offence which carries a 12 month or more jail term.
