With thanks to Cristina Pelkas for drawing my attention to an Irish medical conduct decision: Medical Council v Dr Gerard Waters [2021] IEHC 252 (on the Irish Courts site).
The Medical Council sought the interim suspension of the doctor, a general practitioner. The application followed a complaint by a patient that the doctor’s surgery included pamphlets “No pandemic killing us”. During a consultation the doctor was said to have told the patient that Covid-19 was a hoax and that the wearing of masks was causing illness.
The doctor’s response to the complaint confirmed his view that measures taken by the government had caused more harm than good; that the official Covid death toll was inflated and other similar opinions. It also appeared that the doctor had said he would not administer the Covid vaccine as he was a “consceintious objector’ (Code of Conduct, [49]). He had referred none of his patients for Covid testing.
Certain undertakings were offered by the doctor, but the Court was not satisfied that they safely allowed a less restrictive sanction than a suspension.