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The doctor who first raised the alarm with police about triple murderer Erin Patterson has been punished by the medical regulator, months after referring to the mushroom cook as a “disturbed sociopathic nut bag”.
Dr Chris Webster, who was working as a visiting medical officer at Leongatha Hospital, spoke with Patterson when she arrived with gastro-like symptoms.
Dr Chris Webster waves to the cameras outside court.Credit: Jason South
Shocked when she discharged herself after barely five minutes of medical attention, Webster phoned triple zero and requested a police check on her wellbeing.
Webster was later subpoenaed to testify in Patterson’s murder trial and, following the guilty verdicts, gave an interview to the Herald Sun. In that interview, he called Patterson a “crazy bitch” and a “disturbed sociopathic nut bag” – comments which subsequently came under intense scrutiny.
His comments triggered widespread backlash and led to multiple complaints from the public and patients at his Leongatha clinic.
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On Wednesday, the Medical Board of Australia imposed two formal conditions on Webster’s registration, requiring that he completes one-on-one education with an approved educator for a minimum of eight hours, addressing the topics of professionalism and ethics.
Webster has also been ordered by the board to undertake mentoring with a minimum of five one-hour sessions on a monthly basis, focused on confidentiality, professional communication, and ethical obligations.
Webster said he accepted the conditions imposed by the board, but was disappointed by the amount of time required to complete the mentoring.
“It’s quite onerous in terms of the amount of time and commitment,” he said.
“[It’s] going to take me away from the community, and the number of patients I’ll be able to see will be diminished.”
The disciplinary measures come two months after his controversial interview with the Herald Sun.
Erin Patterson was found guilty of murdering three people and trying to kill a fourth by poisoning them with death cap mushrooms concealed in a beef Wellington meal.Credit: Marta Pascual Juanola
Following the backlash, Webster later clarified with this masthead that his comments were made when he was explaining to the reporter his initial reaction on learning from Dandenong Hospital doctor Beth Morgan that four people had been poisoned, potentially with death cap mushrooms.
“To be perfectly honest, they were words that I said in the bathroom out loud after the phone call from Dr Beth Morgan,” Webster told this masthead in July.
“I was freaking out. I was completely freaking out. Those thoughts and words were completely private; they were never documented, they were never broadcast until after the verdict.”
Webster said online “trolls” who targeted him for his comments caused him stress, but he stood by his remarks.
“I absolutely do not regret them. I was quoted perfectly,” he said.
“Unfortunately, people don’t necessarily process what they’re reading”
Webster said he was grateful that he could continue to practice and serve the local community in Leongatha.
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“There was a genuine fear in the community at one stage that they were going to lose Dr Webster,” he said. “There was a time there where I couldn’t walk down the main street of Leongatha and not be hugged.”
“Once everyone realised I was here for the long haul and committed to the general practice that I own, everybody calmed down.”
Although Webster was not directly employed by Gippsland Southern Health Service – the operator of Leongatha Hospital – his role as a visiting medical officer placed him in the spotlight. The health service has since ended its partnership with the local clinic through which he was contracted. He last worked at the hospital in February 2024.
Earlier this month, Patterson was sentenced to life in prison, with a non-parole period of 33 years for the murders of Heather Wilkinson and Don and Gail Patterson, and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson. Patterson’s sentence makes her one of Victoria’s longest-serving female inmates.
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