After four patients presented to Leongatha Hospital in July 2023 with gastro-like symptoms following a family lunch – Dr Chris Webster immediately suspected the meal’s chef, Erin Patterson had poisoned her guests – and was the first to report the now infamous ‘mushroom murderer’ to the police.
Now Dr Chris, who famously referred to Patterson as a ‘disturbed sociopathic nutjob’, has had to downsize his GP clinic in Leongatha to “avoid financial oblivion” after the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) took away his rights to supervise other GPs, along with a a lack of support from fellow GPs who refused to limit their bulk billing.
“Quite a lot of people were not in favour of me and my style,” Dr Chris told the Herald Sun after confirming a small number of reception and nursing staff would follow him to a new and smaller clinic.
“Patients that were approving of my compassion and skill will continue to see me. I’ve got the community’s back and they’ve got mine. My books are always open.”
While he was initially hailed as a hero for his role in helping convict Patterson for killing her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson as well as Heather Wilkinson – Dr Chris landed himself in hot water for some of his comments about the mushroom murderer shortly after she was sentenced to life in prison with a 33-year non-parole period in September last year.
She also received a life sentence for attempting to kill Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who survived the deadly lunch.
REALISING PATTERSON WAS A KILLER
After Patterson was found guilty of the murders, Dr Chris recounted his interactions with the mushroom murderer at the hospital just days before her victims died.
When he asked about the moment he realised Patterson was a killer, he said it was when she told him the death cap mushrooms had been bought at Woolworths.
“If she said she picked them, it would have been a very different mindset for me because there would have been an instant assumption it was a tragic accident,” he said.
“But once she said that answer, my thoughts were, ‘holy f****** s***, you f****** did it, you crazy b****, you poisoned them all’. The turning point for me was that moment.”
Following those comments to the Herald Sun, the public and his patients filed complaints and the Medical Board of Australia (AHPRA) imposed two conditions on Webster’s registration as punishment.
One of the requirements was eight hours of one-on-one education about ethics and professionalism, while the other was a five-month long mentorship program that focused on confidentiality, professional communication and ethical obligations.
While Dr Chris blames the sanctions imposed by RACGP and AHPRA for forcing him to shut down his GP clinic in Leongatha – the clinic’s remaining staff released their own statement to the local newspaper, the Sentinel-Times, suggesting there are various issues at play.
“There are a number of complex issues underlying the current situation,” they wrote.
Woman’s Day contacted Dr Chris for comment, but he did not respond at the time of publishing.
