Melbourne:
Indian-origin surgeon Jayant Patel will stand trial in an Australian court in September this year for causing grievous harm to a patient, a media report has said.
In the case, 62-year-old Patel is accused of unnecessarily removing Ian Rodney Vowels' bowel during an operation at Bundaberg Base Hospital in 2004, the Queensland Times reported.
The case was mentioned in the Supreme Court yesterday when Justice Glen Martin set a trial date for September 23. Martin said the trial would go on for 10-15 days.
Patel's barrister Ken Fleming indicated there would be a pre-trial hearing where the defence would apply for the jury to be polled.
The polling will involve asking potential jurors selected to try Patel, questions about their knowledge of the well-publicised doctor and his alleged history.
Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions Todd Fuller said it had also been agreed to move Patel's outstanding fraud offences to be heard in a district court.
Justice Jean Dalton has been appointed to Patel's grievous bodily harm trial.
In a manslaughter re-trial last month, a Brisbane Supreme Court jury had found Patel not guilty.