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Summarised by Centrist
Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal concluded a two-day hearing in Nelson on Tuesday, finding Dr Caroline Mary Wheeler guilty of professional misconduct after prescribing ivermectin for COVID in 2021 and 2022.
They found the GP’s conduct amounted to malpractice and brought discredit to the profession.
The disciplinary charge was brought by the Professional Conduct Committee.
The tribunal found Wheeler prescribed ivermectin in circumstances where it was not clinically appropriate for treating or preventing COVID.
It said she “failed to acknowledge or reflect generally accepted medical knowledge on the prevention and treatment” of COVID and did not provide a clear management plan for the patient involved. It also found she did not obtain or properly record consent for the unapproved use of ivermectin for COVID.
Wheeler prescribed ivermectin on November 11, 2021, for a patient to use if he later contracted COVID.
In July 2022, the patient became infected, took the medication and was subsequently hospitalised with seizures.
The Medical Council raised concerns about the prescription.
Wheeler told the patient by telephone that his “seizures were because he stopped taking Ivermectin” and that COVID, not the drug, had caused them. Counsel for the Professional Conduct Committee said there was no medical basis for those statements.
Records presented to the tribunal showed 16 other patients were prescribed ivermectin for COVID purposes over a one-year period from October 2021 to October 2022.
Her counsel said she was “mortified” and had accepted the disciplinary charge, though he also told the tribunal she had been worn down by the process and wanted it concluded.
Around 130 supporters attended the hearing.
The tribunal has reserved its decision on penalty.
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