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The nurse who blew the whistle on former Queensland surgeon Jayant Patel says she is "devastated" to hear his manslaughter convictions have been quashed by the High Court.
Nurse Toni Hoffman, who worked alongside Patel at the Bundaberg Base Hospital between March 2003 and April 2005, described the prospect of a new trial as "the worst case scenario".
"It was so disturbing for everybody to give the evidence, and I just feel so bad for all of the patients," she told AAP.
The High Court on Friday ordered a new trial after finding there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice during Patel's original trial in early 2011.
Patel, who was dubbed "Doctor Death" by sections of the media, worked as a surgeon at the Bundaberg Base Hospital between March 2003 and April 2005.
He was sentenced to seven years' jail in July 2010 after a Brisbane Supreme Court jury found him guilty of the manslaughter of Gerry Kemps, 77, James Phillips, 46, and Mervyn Morris, 75.
He also was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to Ian Rodney Vowles, 62.
Hoffman said staff at the hospital would also find the news difficult to bear.
"It's been going on since 2003, and by the time it goes to trial again it will be 10 years," she said.
"The staff need it all to be over, they need to get on with their lives."
AAP
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