Queensland Health is contacting about 1,000 patients after concerns were raised about the thoroughness of 1,500 endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures done by a doctor at Redland Hospital on Brisbane's bayside.

Key points: Patients who may be affected were treated by the doctor at Redland hospital between 2012 and 2018

Patients who may be affected were treated by the doctor at Redland hospital between 2012 and 2018 The doctor works at the Redland and Logan hospitals and also one hospital in NSW

The doctor works at the Redland and Logan hospitals and also one hospital in NSW The Australian-trained surgeon is currently on leave.

Around 450 high-risk patients have already been re-screened amid fears the doctor may have missed signs of cancer.

Queensland Health said the only patients who might be affected were those treated by the doctor at Redland Hospital between 2012 and 2018.

Queensland Health director-general Dr John Wakefield said 14 patients had developed bowel cancer, but said there was no evidence that was directly related to the work of the doctor.

"What we don't know is to what extent there is a relationship between an opportunity that was lost because something was missed," he said.

"If we find that there's a significant likelihood that any of those cancers could be attributed to the work of this doctor, we will move in to work and support those patients by way of some sort of compensation."

Doctor still working

The Australian-trained surgeon is currently on leave and works at the Redland and Logan hospitals in south-east Queensland and also at one hospital in New South Wales.

Dr Wakefield said the alarm was initially raised by another doctor in September 2018.

"Initially there was a concern raised by another practitioner who identified a patient as having a bowel lesion that they wouldn't have expected to see after a previous screening colonoscopy," Dr Wakefield said.

"As a consequence of that, investigation was done on cases, which subsequently provided some level of concern about the thoroughness of the practice of that doctor."

In September 2018, the Metro South Hospital and Health Service referred the matter to the Office of the Health Ombudsman, who then passed it on to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

Dr Wakefield said AHPRA placed restrictions on the doctor in May 2019.

But in December 2019, those restrictions were downgraded to undertakings, meaning the doctor in question is now allowed to do endoscopies and colonoscopies under supervision.

But Dr Wakefield said regardless of the ruling from AHPRA, Queensland Health had barred the surgeon from doing the screening procedures known as "scopes".

Dr Wakefield said an audit had been done on the doctor's other duties.

"My understanding is that the information that was provided from Metro South to the regulator included an audit of all his work, which allegedly identified his … other areas of practice as being fine," he said.

"Under supervision or otherwise, this doctor has not undertaken another scope in our system on any patient since September 2018."

Dr Wakefield, with Health Minister Steven Miles alongside, says AHPRA placed restrictions on the doctor's practice in May 2019. ( ABC News: Josh Robertson )

Investigation underway

Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles said the first priority was taking care of affected patients.

He has ordered an independent health service investigation and says the findings of it will be made public.

"Once we have completed the important work of taking care of these Queenslanders, then we will get to the bottom of exactly what has gone on through this health service investigation," Mr Miles said.

Dr Wakefield said he found out about the bungle in December 2019 and alerted the Health Minister just before Christmas.

When asked why it took more than 12 months for Metro South to tell Queensland Health about the issue, Dr Wakefield said there were concerns about the length of time it took for senior health officials to be notified.

"The focus right now is on making sure we do everything possible for the patients, and the answer to that question and to other questions will be a significant focus of the investigation, and in due course the facts will be identified," he said.

Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mander said the issue should have come to light sooner and said many questions needed to be answered.

"There is no excuse that people have had to wait 15 months for this issue to be dealt with," he said.

"There's real concerns that there seems to be a culture of secrecy and there seems to be a culture of non-disclosure."