Doctor Vafa Naderi, who treated Ms Dhu before she died in custody, found guilty of professional misconduct

Ms Dhu’s family members have slammed the fine given out to a doctor who treated the Yamatji woman in the hours before her death in police custody. In August 2014, Dr Vafa Naderi declared Ms Dhu fit for police custody after she was arrested by South Hedland Police officers over unpaid fines. Less than 24 hours later, the 22-year-old died of pneumonia and septicaemia. Today, the State Administrative Tribunal fined Dr Naderi $30,000 after finding him guilty of professional misconduct, ruling that his examination of Ms Dhu was “inadequate”. The ruling comes eight months after the Medical Board of Australia took disciplinary action against Dr Naderi. Today, the State Administrative Tribunal found that “proper cause” existed for disciplinary action against Dr Naderi. It found that the doctor failed Ms Dhu on a number of counts: he declared Ms Dhu fit for custody despite her elevated heart rate, did not take her temperature, and did not examine her ribs, despite her complaining of pain in that area. He also failed to advise the police when Ms Dhu should return to the hospital. The board imposed the maximum penalty of $30,000 on Dr Naderi, and ordered that he pay the court’s costs. In a statement, a spokesperson for the board expressed “sincere condolences” to Ms Dhu’s family. “Everyone has the right to receive safe care,” they said. “Tragically, Ms Dhu did not receive the standard of care she should have rightly expected from Dr Naderi. It fell substantially below acceptable standards.” Ms Dhu’s grandmother Carol Roe told The West Australian that she was disappointed Dr Naderi was the only doctor who has been held accountable. “No we got no justice… only one got fined and my granddaughter paid the biggest price,” she said. “Why are those doctors still working?” Dr Naderi was not stripped of his registration on the grounds that he has shown “deep remorse” for his actions and taken “significant steps” to improve his medical practise, a Medical Board spokesperson said. Della Roe — Ms Dhu’s mother — questioned whether the doctors who failed her daughter should remain in the profession. “The nurses and the doctors are still working and getting paid for job for their job that they couldn’t even do for one person, my daughter,” she said. “She had to pay the ultimate price with her life because they couldn’t do their job properly.”