Dr Charlie Teo attends charity dinner hosted by Mick Gatto after admitting he’d driven Uber
Charlie Teo donates $10,000 to attend charity dinner hosted by Mick Gatto – after claiming he was forced to drive to Uber to pay his mortgage
- Divisive neurosurgeon Dr. Charlie Teo attended the gala dinner
- He previously complained that he had to ride Ubers to pay bills
Controversial neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo has attended a benefit gala dinner hosted by Melbourne’s colorful identity, Mick Gatto.
Dr. Teo, 62, whose disciplinary hearing with the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) ended last week, reportedly donated $10,000 to Gatto’s Equal Access for Autism charity.
Just hours before dinner on Saturday night, Dr Teo said in an interview published in the Daily Telegraph that he “didn’t cry poor” but was forced to drive to Uber last year to pay his mortgage and legal bills.
Temporary restrictions imposed on Dr. Teo for the past two years, while the HCCC investigated his case, effectively banned him from working as a surgeon in Australia.
He said he had worked abroad but that “most of the work abroad is voluntary and I often have to cover the travel costs myself.”
Disputed neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo was the guest of honor at Mick Gatto’s Equal Access for Autism charity gala dinner on Saturday night (pictured)
Dr. Teo poses at the event with (lr) reformed armed robber Russell Manser, Gatto and Ron Isherwood
Dr. Teo, who had not received any support for the HCCC from an Australian-based colleague during his hearing, was treated like a hero, according to the gala dinner. The Sydney Morning Herald.
Among the eclectic cast of attendees at Melbourne’s Hyatt were actor Vince Colosimo and former motorcycle boss Toby Mitchell eating a menu designed by fallen Masterchef judge George Calombaris.
At one point, singer Kate Cebrano sang a song and at another, host Richard Wilkins auctioned off a lunch with controversial AFL figures Ben Cousins and Sam Newman.
Dr. Teo and Gatto have known each other for at least ten years, with Dr. Teo performed surgery and saved the life of the mother of one of Gatto’s friends.
Gatto once raised more than $600,000 for cancer research at a previous charity dinner with the help of Dr. Teo.
The neurosurgeon will have to wait for the HCCC’s decision to see if he can operate in Australia again.
The committee is investigating whether he operated on two patients with brain damage without properly informing them about the risks.
But Dr Teo said the damage to his reputation was largely done.
“It’s a broken system… The process absolutely needs root and branch reform and it needs it urgently,” he said.
He said his colleagues didn’t stick up for him because they too feared being “blackballed” by the medical fraternity.
“They knew better than to speak out publicly for their own professional survival… That’s why they wouldn’t do it and that makes me very sad,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
The 62-year-old is engaged to former model Traci Griffiths (pictured together)
Dr. Teo with Ms Griffiths outside his HCCC hearing last week (pictured)