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A SUSPENDED doctor inflicted a “barrage of nonsense” on a patient claiming that Covid-19 was a hoax, the High Court has heard.
r Gerard Waters (71) had pamphlets in the waiting room of his office with the title “No pandemic is killing us” and he told the patient that the State and the Government were “scamming the people”.
The general practitioner, based at the Whitethorn Clinic in Celbridge, Co Kildare, was suspended from practice by the Chief Justice last month pending the outcome of an investigation by the Medical Council.
Judge Mary Irvine found that Dr. Waters’ patients would be at significant risk of going undiagnosed or undiagnosed if they developed symptoms of Covid.
The court also issued orders to facilitate the continued provision of medical care by other physicians to Whitethorn Clinic patients.
The decision was made “behind closed doors” on March 2. However, it has now been published following a request from the Medical Council.
He made the request after a banner appeared on the wall of the Whitethorn Clinic that the council was concerned misrepresented the basis for issuing the suspension order. Judge Irvine ordered the banner removed.
Its ruling details a patient’s claims that Dr. Waters warned him that wearing masks was causing illness.
Dr. Waters was said to have provided him with photocopied pages with death numbers from Ireland and Italy, and bar graphs showing the ages of the victims in an effort to convince him that Covid-19 was a hoax.
The patient alleged that Dr. Waters claimed that the people who were confirmed to have died from Covid-19 had not actually died from the disease and those who did were “terribly old.”
He also alleged that the doctor suggested that his symptoms were due to the mask he was wearing during the consultation last September.
The patient had originally contacted the surgery days earlier in search of a Covid test, but said the secretary informed him that they did not have a computerized system, so they could not refer patients for the Covid test.
After a phone consultation with another GP, the man was told that he had no Covid symptoms. Two days later, he made an appointment with Dr. Waters to treat a suspected chest infection.
The visit led to the complaint to the Medical Council.
“As soon as I entered the consultation, with my mask, I must add, they treated me with a barrage of nonsense about the ‘deception that is Covid-19’, how the State and the Government are scamming people and what the masks are like . causing illness, “said the man in his complaint.
“It was the most uncomfortable experience I have had in many years.”
The man complained that the doctor’s views “don’t differ much” from those shared by “terribly irresponsible people” online.
“Dr. Waters even suggested that my illness was the result of ‘that damn silly thing’ I was wearing, while pointing at my mask. His behavior was more than inappropriate, ”said the man.
The court heard that when contacted by the Medical Council about the complaint, Dr. Waters admitted to having made his point of view on Covid-19, but maintained that he did so in a reasoned manner.
In his response, he claimed that the death toll was inflated and that “propaganda” perpetuated by governments and the media in relation to Covid-19 was being used to “spearhead” an economic collapse in the Western world.
The President of the Medical Council, Dr. Rita Doyle, wrote to Dr. Waters expressing her concern and asking for assurances that she would follow the HSE Covid-19 guidelines.
But Dr. Waters sent a fax to the HSE stating that he did not intend to administer the Covid-19 vaccine to his patients.
The HSE asked him to provide the names, addresses, dates of birth, contact numbers and email addresses of his patients aged 85 and over and those aged 70 and over, but he did not comply.
Dr. Waters indicated to the court that he was willing to commit to complying with the HSE’s request and also to facilitate the referral of his patients with Covid symptoms to other consultations.
Judge Irvine said the doctor’s suspension would undoubtedly have adverse consequences for his patients, particularly those in the General Medical Services scheme who will have to find a new doctor.
But he said any adverse consequences for those patients were outweighed by the risks that Dr. Waters’ conduct poses to them and to those with whom they live if he is allowed to continue his practice, regardless of the commitments offered.
“The respondent’s conduct exposes his patients to a very real risk of infection when they attend their surgery,” he said.
“If they are symptomatic for Covid-19, the respondent’s patients would, in my opinion, have a significant risk of remaining undiagnosed and untreated or having their diagnosis or treatment delayed.
“Additionally, patients with Covid-19 symptoms may not be advised to self-isolate, which encourages transmission in the community.
“All the evidence heard in the context of this lawsuit leads me to conclude that the health, safety and well-being of the defendant’s patients and the community in which they live can only be adequately protected by the imposition of the requested stay.
“These concerns outweigh all other considerations, including the inconvenience, albeit burdensome, imposed on patients that they will have to find a new GP to care for.”
Online editors
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