A country doctor who played a crucial role in bringing attention to the notorious triple mushroom poisoning case involving Erin Patterson has decided to shut down his local practice to avoid severe financial difficulties.
Dr. Chris Webster emerged as a key figure in the investigation against Patterson, having been the attending physician when she sought medical attention following the poisoning of her in-laws at a lunch in her Leongatha residence on July 29, 2023.
Renowned for his candidness, Dr. Webster later became the center of media attention with several high-profile interviews. He openly expressed his belief that the poisoning was intentional, referring to Patterson as a “disturbed sociopathic nut bag.”
However, these forthright remarks brought him under scrutiny by the medical regulator. As a consequence, he was mandated to undergo ethics training and lost his ability to oversee trainee general practitioners.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ directive, compounded by a lack of support from fellow general practitioners who were hesitant to adjust their bulk billing practices, contributed significantly to Dr. Webster’s decision to close the Leongatha Healthcare Practice.
Despite these challenges, Dr. Webster has expressed a desire to establish a new “boutique practice” in the future.
‘It will be a radically downsized clinic. Quite a lot of people were not in favour of me and my style,’ he told the Herald Sun.
‘But patients that were approving of my compassion and skill will continue to see me.’
The country doctor who first alerted police to triple mushroom killer Erin Pattersonhas closed his local practice to avoid ‘financial oblivion’ (pictured, Dr Chris Webster)
Patterson was found guilty of murdering her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson with death cap mushrooms
He added: ‘I’ve got the community’s back and they’ve got mine. My books are always open.’
However doctors and staff at the practice said there is a ‘number of complex issues’ which include ‘longstanding concerns raised by staff and clinicians regarding workplace safety and governance’.
Dr Webster was labelled a hero after reports of his quick-thinking actions in hospital were voiced during the 2025 trial.
He told the jury he first encountered Patterson at Leongatha Hospital at about 8am on Sunday, July 31, 2023 – two days after her deadly lunch.
At that stage, Patterson’s lunch guests Don and Gail Patterson, and Heather and Pastor Ian Wilkinson, were fighting for life in various hospitals. Only Ian would survive.
Dr Webster was already aware that her four guests may have been poisoned with death cap mushrooms when he first laid eyes on Patterson at the hospital.
‘I apologised (that) she had been kept waiting, I asked why she had presented and she said “gastro”,’ he said.
‘I asked her where she got the mushrooms and she said, “Woolworths”.’
Dr Webster is set to close his local practice in order to avoid ‘financial oblivion’
Dr Webster, who doubted Patterson’s Woolworths claim, said he told her that he needed to commence treatment on her for possible death cap mushroom poisoning.
The doctor later said he became aware Patterson had left the hospital.
‘If she said she picked them (the death caps), it would have been a very different mindset for me because there would have been an instant assumption it was all a tragic accident,’ he told the Herald Sun in 2025.
‘But once she said that answer (that she bought the mushrooms from Woolworths), my thoughts were, “holy f**king shit, you f**king did it, you crazy b***h, you poisoned them all.”
‘The turning point for me was that moment.’
It appears the practice is still accepting new patients with appointments available until March 10, according to the HotDoc booking website.
However, patients are unable to book in with Dr Webster directly and are advised to call the clinic for more information.
