NSW anaesthetist cleared to work after drunken disappearing act

A NSW anaesthetist is allowed to return to work despite being found so drunk he was six times over the legal driving limit after mysteriously leaving a patient in the middle of an operation.

Michal Petr was investigated by NSW Medical Council after he vanished from a Wollongong Hospital operating theatre on May 20 while his patient was still unconscious.

Dr Petr had failed to pass on any information to a junior colleague, and he was discovered 90 minutes later, locked in a hospital room, with a high blood alcohol level of 0.3, Fairfax reports.

The senior anaesthetist had earlier that day attended the funeral of a colleague.

This week NSW Medical Council decided not to suspend the registration of Dr Petr, but instead imposed restrictions on his return to work.

Dr Petr was not a risk to the public if he followed "strict conditions", a NSW Medical Council spokesperson told ninemsn.

A second specialist anaesthetist must always be present when Dr Petr is working, and he can only practice medicine at an approved location, the spokesperson said.

Other conditions imposed on Dr Petr could not be made public because of privacy, added the spokesperson.

"[We] are satisfied that Dr Petr does not pose a risk to the public when practising under the conditions."

In 2011 Dr Petr pleaded guilty to a drink driving charge after being stopped by traffic officers who had clocked him travelling 105km/h in an 80km/h zone at Woonona.

Dr Petr returned an alcohol reading of 0.161 - three times the legal limit, Illawarra Mercury reports.

At the time, Wollongong Hospital confirmed they disciplined Dr Petr but did not disclose the details of his punishment.