Queensland Health Minister Gordon Nuttall has accused lawyers of delaying urgent corrective surgery for former patients of an Indian-trained surgeon dubbed Dr Death.

Dr Jayant Patel, 55, has been linked with more than 20 deaths at Bundaberg Base Hospital, where he was employed as a surgeon for two years.

At least 12 former patients are believed to need corrective treatment for botched surgery he performed, but Mr Nuttall said lawyers were advising former patients not to communicate with the health department.

“What I am asking today is for the lawyers to stand aside until we get these people fixed up,” Mr Nuttall told Parliament when asked why only one patient had been assessed by the Government’s medical specialist.

“The lawyers are continually trying to interfere in what we are trying to do there. Our highest priority is to care for every one of those people.”

Ian Brown, whose law firm Carter Capner represents about 100 former patients of Dr Patel, denied lawyers were interfering in the assessment process.

“From my perspective and my firm’s perspective, there has been no suggestion at any time that there should be any blocking of Government assistance,” he said.

Mr Brown accused the government of delaying treatment for the patients through a lack of resources in Bundaberg.

“The process is painfully slow,” he said.

“It’s astonishingly slow for such a difficult situation. The provision of medical support is taking far too long.”

The Opposition labelled Mr Nuttall an “absolute dud”, saying his claim regarding lawyers was another excuse for the Government’s slow response to the scandal.

“I would not believe anything the minister is saying,” Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said.

“The minister is clutching at straws to save his political life”.

Dr Patel fled Australia at Easter, since when he was revealed to have falsified his Queensland registration application, hiding the fact he had been found guilty of gross negligence in the US.

The state Government has announced a royal commission into the circumstances surrounding Dr Patel’s employment as a surgeon in Bundaberg.

Premier Peter Beattie faces mounting pressure to ensure the commission looks at problems facing the state’s health system.

He will announce details of the commission after Cabinet meets on Tuesday.

“The Bundaberg Hospital saga has been very damaging to us, both in terms of the local seat, and we’ve got a fight on our hands to hold it, and in terms of the perception of health,” Mr Beattie said.

“Whatever recommendations come out of this inquiry need to be applied nationally. This is not just a Queensland problem.”