The High Court has published in full, a judgment granting the Medical Council's application to suspend a Kildare GP who is alleged to have failed to refer patients for Covid-19 tests, and to operate his surgery in accordance with public health regulations.
The court ordered the suspension of Dr Gerard Waters, of Whitethorn Clinic, Celbridge in Co Kildare, from the Register of Medical Practitioners in early March.
The judgment was published today after an application from the Medical Council.
The suspension came about after a complaint from a patient who said the doctor claimed his illness was caused by the mask he was wearing, which the GP described as that "silly f***ing thing".
After Dr Waters was suspended, the Medical Council says a banner appeared on the wall of his clinic stating that he had been suspended because he refused to give the Covid-19 vaccine and objected to the lockdowns.
However, the council said this misrepresented the basis for the 71-year-old's suspension and asked the High Court to publish the judgment in full.
The Medical Council had applied for an order suspending Dr Waters pending an investigation of the patient’s complaint.
It said the doctor did not operate his practice in accordance with public health measures. Neither he nor his staff wore masks and patients were not encouraged to wear them either. There were no physical distancing measures in place, the council said.
The council was also concerned because Dr Waters had never referred any patient showing relevant symptoms for a Covid-19 test. It also pointed out that the GP had said he would not administer the vaccine and it said he was undermining the public health message by comments he made to his patients.
In her ruling, High Court President Ms Justice Mary Irvine said the doctor's failure to refer patients for testing had the potential to have serious consequences for not only his patients but for the wider community.
She said the manner in which the practice was managed placed all of those who attended there at unnecessary risk - particularly the elderly, those with serious underlying medical conditions and those who lived or worked with people who may be vulnerable to Covid-19. She said his alleged conduct posed a very significant risk to patients and the public.
The judge said Dr Waters had claimed his concerns about the virus and the vaccine were protected by his right of conscientious objection. She said it was unlikely his refusal to administer the vaccine would be protected on this basis.
But the judge said, given an undertaking the doctor had now made to cooperate with the HSE to provide information about his patients who were eligible for vaccines, she would disregard his conduct so far in relation to the vaccine in her consideration of the application to suspend him.
Ms Justice Irvine said Dr Waters’ failure to carry on his practice in a manner compliant with public health measures and his failure to refer patients for testing were matters he would find difficult to defend on any basis and were difficult to excuse on any grounds.
The suspension arose after the patient complained to the Medical Council on 16 September 2020.
The complaint related to a consultation the patient had with Dr Waters earlier that day. The complaint detailed "representations and actions" taken by the GP in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The patient said while waiting in the surgery he noticed photocopied pamphlets with the title "No pandemic killing us". Having begun his consultation with Dr Waters he said he was treated to a "barrage of nonsense about the 'hoax that is Covid-19’" and that the "State and the government are scamming people".
The judgment said the patient also described the doctor advising him that mask wearing was causing illness and handing him photocopied pages with death numbers from Ireland and Italy, as well as bar charts showing the ages of victims in "an effort to convince him that Covid-19 is a hoax".
He also reported the doctor claimed those confirmed as dying from the virus had not actually died from that disease and those that do were "terribly old". He also said the doctor told him his symptoms were caused by the mask he was wearing.
The patient said Dr Waters pointed to his mask and said his illness was a result of "that silly f***ing thing" he was wearing. He described the GPs behaviour as "beyond inappropriate".
The man said he thought long and hard before lodging the complaint but feared Dr Waters’ other patients could be put in danger because they might take his opinions at face value.
Having been informed of the complaint the GP sent a detailed response on 30 October and maintained that he had set out his view on Covid-19 to the patient in a reasoned manner.
The judgment said his response to the complaint dealt primarily, however, with his views regarding Covid-19, the Government’s handling of the pandemic, the information disseminated by public health officials, and the research he had carried out.
He stated that the measures undertaken by the Government had resulted in more harm that good, referring to the psychological damage as a result of restrictions.
He "supposes that the Government has instigated media propaganda and that the official death toll reflects an inflated rate of mortality ascribed to Covid-19. He seeks to support the contentions by providing some statistics from America and Italy," the judgement added.
Dr Waters also made various claims about a link between what he described as propaganda in relation to Covid-19 being used to "front run" an economic collapse in the Western World.
He also said if he was wrong his negative impact would be minuscule because he had never broadcasted his views on the internet or spoken to the public. He said he only communicated the truth to his patients who sought his professional opinion.
In his letter responding to the complaint, which is published in full in the judgment, Dr Waters said he presented information to his patient in a reasoned manner and not in an aggressive fashion. He said the patient claimed to be traumatised and upset at a person having a different opinion and he "clearly wishes to demonise me because of my use of a naughty word".
The council applied to the High Court for the suspension under Section 60 of the 2007 Medical Practitioners Act. It can do this if it believes the suspension is necessary to protect the public.
Ms Justice Irvine said she was satisfied the council was justified in bringing the application given the seriousness of the alleged conduct. She granted the application for suspension, saying undertakings offered by Dr Waters were not sufficient to allow her to impose less restrictive measures.
The council says it understands that Dr Waters is appealing the High Court order and the matter is also still being considered by the council.
Reporting Orla O'Donnell & Vivienne Traynor
