Rural doctor who exposed triple mushroom killer Erin Patterson is forced to make tough decision: 'People were not in favour of me'

The country doctor who first alerted police to triple mushroom killer Erin Patterson has closed his local practice to avoid 'financial oblivion.'

Dr Chris Webster was deemed a star witness in the case against Patterson, having been the on-call doctor when she presented to hospital two days after she poisoned her in-laws during a lunch at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023.

The straight-talking doctor later gave a series of high-profile interviews, in which he described how he quickly knew the poisoning had been deliberate, calling Patterson a 'disturbed sociopathic nut bag.'

Those comments landed him in hot water with the medical regulator, and he was ordered to complete mandatory ethics training and stripped of his ability to supervise trainee GPs.

Dr Webster cited the order by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, along with a ‘complete lack of support’ from fellow GPs who refused to limit their bulk billing, as key factors in the closure of the Leongatha Healthcare Practice.

He said he wants to open a new 'boutique practice' instead.

'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.