Dr Vishnu Varma – Dentist – Registration Suspended for professional misconduct and unsatisfactory professional conduct

19 January 2022

The Health Care Complaints Commission prosecuted a complaint against Dr Vishnu Varma, dentist, before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (‘the Tribunal’).

Before the alleged conduct, Dr Varma had conditions on his registration which were in the context of the fact that his authority to prescribe drugs of addiction had already been withdrawn. The conditions prohibited him from administering any drugs of addiction and from self-prescribing. He was required to undergo random drug urinalysis.

It was alleged that Dr Varma breached the conditions on his registration by:

• self-administering Codeine in September 2019;
• failing to attend urinalysis in October 2019;
• using prescription pads that belonged to his colleagues to write 12 prescriptions for Endone in the names of his family members but in fact for self medication in April 2020.

On its 13 January 2022 decision, the Tribunal found the complaint proven and that Dr Varma was guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct. The Tribunal observed that confirmed that conditions of registration for health practitioners must be ‘scrupulously observed’ and that any protective order short of suspension would be an inadequate response to the seriousness of this misconduct. The Tribunal suspended Dr Varma’s registration for six months and imposed conditions to protect the public.

The full decision is available here: NSW Caselaw.

Further information

For further information, contact the Executive Officer of the Health Care Complaints Commission, on 02 9219 7444 or send an email to media@hccc.nsw.gov.au.

The information in this media release is correct at the time of publication. Orders may change; for example, conditions may no longer apply.  For current information regarding the status of a registered health practitioner, including any conditions that currently apply, please check the National Register at www.ahpra.gov.au.