Latest news with #HealthPractitionersDisciplinaryTribunal
Otago Daily Times
28-05-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Former TVNZ presenter and doctor claimed HIV doesn't exist
By Jeremy Wilkinson, Open Justice multimedia journalist A former TVNZ presenter and doctor from Christchurch has claimed, in a series of YouTube videos that garnered thousands of views, that HIV doesn't exist and gonorrhoea isn't sexually transmitted. Samantha Bailey, who was previously one of four presenters on the TVNZ health series The Checkup, has worked in a range of healthcare roles. She references her medical experience on her YouTube channel where she has uploaded 142 videos that discuss a range of health issues to her 352,000 subscribers. Bailey's medical registration was cancelled after she posted a series of 23 videos, questioning the efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccine, to the same channel. Those videos racked up close to 18 million views and she was ordered to pay $148,000 in fines and legal fees. Today, a Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal hearing focused on four of her videos, which allegedly spread misinformation about the HIV/Aids virus and the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhoea. In a three-part series titled 'The Yin and Yang of HIV', Bailey claims there's no proof it exists, nor that it is sexually transmitted, and that treatment for it can be toxic and harmful. Bailey claimed that diagnostic tests for the virus are inherently unreliable and that 'the same person tested in three cities on the same day may or may not be HIV infected'. 'Supporters of the HIV causes Aids hypothesis cannot back up their claims with scientific evidence, yet they continue to reject alternative explanations and promote life-threatening drug treatments,' she claims in the videos that have a combined 70,000 views. '…it is impossible to claim from epidemiological data that HIV/Aids is an infectious sexually transmitted disease.' Former TVNZ presenter ordered to pay $148k According to the World Health Organisation, HIV is an infection that can turn into Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (Aids) if left untreated. The virus can be transmitted via sexual intercourse. Internationally, there were nearly 40 million people living with HIV at the end of 2023, and a further 42 million have died since the epidemic began in the 1980s. A second video titled 'What We Weren't Taught About Gonorrhoea' has 64,000 views and claims that the infection is not sexually transmitted and refers to it as 'germ theory nonsense'. Bailey also claims that historical results regarding the existence of gonorrhoea had a 'spin' put on them to 'dial up the fear'. Bailey wasn't registered as a doctor for several months when she published the videos from March to May 2022. At today's hearing, which Bailey did not turn up to, the Medical Council levelled charges of professional misconduct against her on the basis the videos amounted to malpractice and negligence. Abigail Brand, counsel for the Professional Conduct Committee pressing charges, said Bailey had published harmful information under the guise of it being 'self-styled health videos'. 'The PCC submits that numerous statements have been made that are inaccurate and misleading,' Brand said. 'Ms Bailey's statements go beyond the realm of legitimate scientific debate and pose a risk to the public.' Brand said that while everyone has the right to freedom of speech, medical professionals, as per their code of ethics, have a limitation on this right and any robust debate they engage in must be well-founded, and expressed in a balanced way. In addition, Brand said that Bailey stood to profit from the videos with advertising revenue, by requesting donations for her work and by promoting her book. Bailey didn't engage with the committee's investigation, which occurred at the same time as she was being investigated for spreading Covid misinformation on the same YouTube channel. Rabbit holes and conspiracy theories Dr Timothy Blackmore, an infectious disease and microbiology expert with a research interest in sexually transmitted infections, was called as a witness where he said he'd reviewed Bailey's videos and found them 'misleading in the extreme' and that she'd been highly selective in the information she'd used. 'Old studies and conspiracy theories are emphasised without reference to modern literature,' he said. 'I think she's gone down a rabbit hole of an argument that was done and dusted in the 1990s.' Blackmore was asked by the tribunal how far Bailey was from presenting a balanced view in her videos. 'I have been downplaying how ridiculous her statements are,' he replied. 'It's almost insulting to my patients and my practice, implying that I must be ill informed and moronic to do these things to patients.' Blackmore said that all of Bailey's claims in her videos were inaccurate and said that HIV was known to cause Aids, and that tests to detect it were reliable and to claim otherwise was inaccurate and could discourage proper treatment and prevention. The tribunal asked how damaging it would be if people believed the information in Bailey's videos. 'One would be that they may not have any trust in the health system, but even worse they may not even come forward for testing,' Blackmore said, noting that medical practitioners had focused on de-stigmatising people who are infected with HIV, so that they do come forward for help. 'That's the most insulting part, her comments are so stigmatising.'
NZ Herald
17-05-2025
- Health
- NZ Herald
Doctor avoids conviction and suspension for drugging and filming med student
The doctor received a discharge without conviction at the Auckland District Court in 2021 after pleading guilty to a charge of making an intimate visual recording. He was also granted permanent name suppression. He was then taken to the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal where the Medical Council wanted him suspended from practice. Instead, the doctor was given a $70,000 fine and told he could return to work after he completed a recertification programme and complied with certain conditions on his practice. The Medical Council appealed that penalty to the High Court, saying the doctor displayed very poor judgment and misused his position of power as a mentor. But a judge has now ruled that the original penalty was sufficiently severe and won't be imposing a suspension on the doctor. 'This outcome minimises the real-world consequences of what was admitted in court,' the victim told NZME. 'The imbalance of power, the setting, and the breach of trust should have weighed heavily in sentencing. 'Similarly, the tribunal's decision to avoid licence removal felt like it put professional reputation above public safety, enabling someone dangerous to continue operating without appropriate consequences.' The doctor's lawyer, Harry Waalkens, said on his client's behalf that the suggestion the doctor was a danger was 'utterly baseless'. 'There was at no time a doctor-patient/professional relationship in existence,' Waalkens said. 'Moreover, the tribunal's decision itself (one of the most experienced in its composition) was in keeping with the relevant case law and principles. 'So too the High Court's rejection of the appeal against the tribunal decision – again, by a judge who is both highly experienced and respected." Hopes for 'more exciting sex' According to the tribunal's summary of facts, the doctor befriended the medical student following a lecture at his school. Their relationship escalated over several years and they often travelled overseas together. During these trips the doctor took sleep medication to help with jetlag and supplied that medication to the other man. On one of these trips, at the airport, the doctor gave the man medication, saying it would help him sleep. But it was Cialis, a drug used to help with erectile dysfunction and often used to enhance sexual performance in men. He later told the tribunal that he did this in the hope the pair would have more exciting sex. Also during this trip, the doctor used a portable security camera to video the medical student in the shower and take photos of him without his knowledge. The doctor filmed him again in the shower at his home, and he stored the videos on his phone. These were discovered when he lent his phone to the student, who then reported them to the police. Criminal charges were then laid. 'He was motivated by sexual gratification' In a recently released decision, the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal decided not to suspend the doctor, in part because of the niche area of medicine he practises in. NZME cannot identify the field he works in without violating court suppression orders. The Medical Council then appealed the tribunal's ruling and asked the High Court to take another look, and ideally impose a period of suspension as well as requiring him to undertake a sexual misconduct assessment and an education programme. One of the lawyers for the Medical Council, Catherine Deans, told the court last month that the tribunal placed too much emphasis on the doctor's unique specialities. 'The fact he practises in a niche field of medicine cannot trump the wider concerns,' she said. 'Particularly when he's displayed very poor judgment. He's misused his position of power as a mentor.' Deans said that the tribunal erred in its finding in a number of ways and that the doctor had not actually shown any documented remorse, other than simply saying he regretted his actions. She also said the doctor attempted to minimise his actions by referring to giving his victim Cialis as 'misplaced folly' and all in good fun. 'It is deeply concerning that a [medical professional] would ever think there was anything humorous about this.' Deans said the doctor also tried to place blame on his victim and said his complaints were the result of delusions or psychosis, and that he was mentally unwell. She also questioned how much rehabilitation the doctor had done, and pointed to a single paragraph in the tribunal's ruling where it mentioned he had talked to a psychologist about his relationship issues. 'It's not disputed that he was motivated by sexual gratification,' she said, 'And yet there is no evidence that his sexual motivations have been addressed. 'There's no evidence he's been rehabilitated [for] his covert and dishonest judgment in hiding a spy camera in the bathroom.' By contrast the doctor's lawyer, Waalkens, said it wasn't mandatory for the tribunal to impose a penalty, and his client had been penalised to the tune of $70,000. 'It was a sobering penalty across the board,' Waalkens said. 'Where on earth is there a need for more penalty to be imposed?' Waalkens said that there was a clear message of deterrence and accountability in the ruling, and it was a black mark he would have against his name forever. However, while the Medical Council's register of doctors lists the conditions on the doctor's name, it does not link to or reference the tribunal's decision specifically. Justice Geoffrey Venning heard the Medical Council's appeal. 'The principal purpose of the act is to protect the health and safety of the public by ensuring that health practitioners are competent and fit to practise,' Justice Venning said in his decision dismissing the application to suspend the doctor. 'Given the evidence and testimonials supporting [the doctor] it was open for the tribunal to conclude that, despite his actions, his high degree of professional competence and the much needed specialist care he provided for the benefit of the wider public supported a conclusion that suspension and additional conditions sought by the PCC were not required in this case.' NZME called the clinic where the doctor works and was told he is taking extended leave. Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.
RNZ News
16-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Blood lab medical technician Sejal Rao loses registration after CV fraud
By Tracy Neal, Open Justice reporter of When Sejal Rao applied for the lab technician job she didn't say she had used the false information to gain registration. Photo: 123RF A medical lab technician used false information about her abilities and qualifications to get a job with the New Zealand Blood Service and registration with the Medical Sciences Council. Sejal Rao claimed in her CV she was a "Doctor of Medicine" and that she was involved in "Tetangata" tutoring at the University of Auckland, and later at the University of Tasmania. She also named false referees among the seven listed, including one she made up entirely. Rao was eventually caught out by an audit of the NZ Blood Service's online reference checking system, which flagged discrepancies in her application and an investigation followed. Rao blamed her mother, who she said had helped her apply for the job, among a number of responses to the allegations. The allegation against her mother formed part of one of the three comprehensive charges against Rao. The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal found her attempt to deflect blame on her mother was "grossly dishonest". In June 2023, the Professional Conduct Committee appointed by the Medical Sciences Council laid three disciplinary charges against Rao for professional misconduct. The charges were linked to her use of false information when applying for provisional registration with the council and failing to disclose that it was fraudulent. When she applied for the lab technician job, she didn't say she had used the false information to gain registration. The tribunal found earlier this year that the charges against Rao were proved. Her registration has now been cancelled, she has been censured and ordered to pay $13,000 towards the costs of the disciplinary process. Rao had earlier admitted some aspects of her CV were false or misleading, notably that she did not attend medical school at the University of Melbourne and had not studied for a medical degree. She does, however, hold a science degree, with a major in biomedical science, after she graduated from the University of Auckland in October 2020. The tribunal said the extent of Rao's fabrication was "somewhat inexplicable" as she was, in fact, suitably qualified to be employed as a medical lab technician, yet she kept on embellishing her CV. A 33-page summary of facts from December 2023 showed Rao had applied for a position as a medical lab technician at the blood service before her provisional registration in June 2021. Having accepted the offer of employment, Rao then applied to the Medical Sciences Council for provisional registration as a lab technician. Under the heading "academic profile" in her CV, Rao claimed to be a Doctor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne from 2020-2022. She also falsely claimed she was studying at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), for a Doctor of Medicine qualification. The tribunal said Rao's claim she was involved in "Tetangata" tutoring seemed to reference te reo Māori, "te tangata" - the people, and "rather oddly" was referred to as part of a tutoring programme at the Australian University. "The tutoring programme did not exist. Therefore, she had never been a te tangata tutor," the tribunal said. The email addresses Rao provided for a professor and a doctor as referees were not valid email accounts used by those individuals, but email accounts created by her. A named referee, "Cassidy Lawrence", was not a real person, and the email account was a fabrication, the tribunal said. There was further fraudulent information regarding an academic transcript from the University of Tasmania and a forged signature for a Certificate of Standing from an unnamed doctor. Rao also supplied a fabricated document from UCLA purporting to offer her a scholarship to the university. The fraud was detected during an audit in mid-2022 of the blood service's online reference checking system, which issued a warning message. It flagged Rao, and a doctor and a professor she had named as referees, as having all used the same IP address to submit information for her job application in June 2021. Rao was suspended from her job in June 2022, pending the final outcome of the employment investigation. A month later, she was summarily dismissed. The tribunal considered that Rao's conduct was malpractice rather than negligence because it was "intentionally dishonest and highly unethical". It said her "elaborate and deliberate pattern of behaviour" was a serious breach of the Code of Ethical Conduct. In her favour was her relative youth and her self-proclaimed immaturity. She claimed mental distress in her life as matters underpinning her conduct. The tribunal acknowledged her co-operation with the investigation and the process that followed. It would be for the Medical Sciences Council to consider if Rao was fit to practise, should she reapply for registration. NZME has attempted to reach Rao via a social media channel. * This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
