Former patients of Indian-trained American surgeon Jayant Patel will today join a Supreme Court defence of the “Dr Death” inquiry as a hospital manager seeks to shut down the $4 million probe.

Lawyers for Bundaberg Base Hospital director of medical services Darren Keating will argue the inquiry, headed by Tony Morris QC, is biased against their client and lacks procedural fairness.

Responding to the legal challenge, the Queensland Government has scaled back Dr Keating’s indemnity cover – and that of Bundaberg district manager Peter Leck – and will not fund the court costs.

The Government will defend the inquiry, and Solicitor-General Walter Sofronoff QC, who had a role in approving the original indemnity cover for Dr Keating and Mr Leck, is expected to represent Mr Morris and his deputy commissioners in court.

Lawyers for Dr Patel’s former patients confirmed yesterday they would back the inquiry, although they would not support a compromise suggested last week by Mr Morris, and kept on the table by Dr Keating’s lawyers, whereby the inquiry would be allowed to continue but make no adverse findings against Dr Keating or Mr Leck.

We want to take whatever steps we are permitted to by the Supreme Court to ensure that the commission does continue, but more importantly, the patients would not like to see an outcome whereby the commission’s power to make findings is not restricted in respect of any adverse findings against Dr Keating or Mr Leck,” Carter Capner solicitor Ian Brown, representing the patients, said yesterday.

A clinical audit of Dr Patel’s two years in Bundaberg found he contributed to the deaths of at least eight patients and concerns held by staff should have been raised, and acted upon, sooner.

The Government is funding the patients’ legal costs in the inquiry and Mr Brown has asked for that cover to extend to the court proceedings.

A spokesman for Attorney-General Rod Welford said yesterday no decision had been made on an extension.

Dr Keating has engaged Robert Mulholland QC to argue his case in front of Justice Martin Moynihan, a former counsel assisting an inquiry and one-time health service board member.

Premier Peter Beattie vowed yesterday to reconstitute the inquiry if it were shut down and described as a “side show” the calls for Health Minister Gordon Nuttall to be sacked for wrongly claiming to have never been briefed about problems with overseas-trained doctors.

Senior Queensland Health bureaucrat John Scott sparked the row when he told a budget estimates committee hearing on Friday he and others had briefed Mr Nuttall about the issue.

While Mr Nuttall stood his ground he later admitted having been briefed but claimed to have misunderstood questions put to him.