A Kildare-based GP has been found guilty of professional misconduct over his failure to wear a mask at his clinic during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as allowing a poster containing false and misleading information about Covid vaccines in his surgery.
A fitness-to-practise committee of the Medical Council found several allegations of professional misconduct against Dr Neville Wilson of The Harbour Medical Clinic, Kilcock, Co Kildare proven, including his failure to ensure staff and patients in his surgery also wore masks.
However, Dr Wilson was cleared of several other allegations arising from his interactions with two visitors to his surgery during the pandemic.
Announcing the committee's findings on Friday, the chairperson of the inquiry, Jill Long, said some allegations were not proven as there had been a dispute in the evidence between the two complainants and Dr Wilson and his receptionist about the exact words which had been used.
Ms Long said Dr Wilson was entitled to the benefit of the doubt where a conflict in evidence could not be resolved.
However, she noted the findings of professional misconduct were on the basis that his conduct fell seriously short of the standard expected of doctors.
Ms Long remarked that Dr Wilson had put patients "at unnecessary and avoidable risk" by effectively ignoring the relevant public health guidelines about the wearing of masks.
She observed he had similarly undermined the HSE guidelines by having a poster containing false and misleading information about Covid vaccines in his surgery.
The committee concluded that the doctor’s actions in relation to the non-mask wearing and the poster also constituted poor professional performance.
It made a similar finding in relation to him referring a patient to his clinic in July 2021 to a letter that had allegedly been sent to the then UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, by a former Pfizer executive, Mike Yeadon, claiming the Covid-19 vaccine was dangerous.
Ms Long said the committee rejected the suggestion by Dr Wilson that he had provided the reference to demonstrate to the patient that he needed to be careful about what he read in the media and act as a warning about disinformation.
She said such a claim was "not remotely credible."
Ms Long pointed out that if Dr Wilson was genuinely concerned about disinformation and people being misled, the last thing he should do is specifically refer someone to the source of the disinformation.
She said the inquiry was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the handwritten reference about Dr Yeadon was given to the patient to persuade him that "Covid vaccines were not effective and/or were dangerous."
Dr Wilson, a native of South Africa who has worked as a doctor for 43 years and practised in Ireland since 2004, had denied the allegations.
He insisted he had conducted himself in a professional manner and compassionate way at all times while "taking into account the best interests and needs of patients and applying my knowledge on the basis of scientific evidence."
Although he chose not to give evidence in his defence, the doctor claimed what the two complainants had told the inquiry was "untrue and false."
An allegation that he had suggested to a patient that he should not have received the Covid-19 vaccination because it was dangerous during a visit to his surgery on 6 July 2021 was not proven.
Another claim that Dr Wilson had told the father of a one-month-old baby, who needed treatment, in May 2022 that face masks and vaccines were ineffective against Covid was also not proven.
Dr Wilson insisted that he had only stated that he was not "anti-vax" but "pro-science."
During a two-day inquiry which concluded in November, Dr Wilson stated he would prefer to rely on international medical studies rather than "get tied up with the minutiae of HSE guidelines" on the use of Covid-19 vaccines.
He told the fitness-to-practise committee that he felt public health guidelines in Ireland about the infection "have very little relevance for me."
However, an expert witness, Dr Tríona Marnell told the inquiry that it was a matter of "huge frustration and disappointment" to have some doctors deliberately ignoring guidelines which she warned could confuse patients and undermine public confidence in the medical profession.
While she acknowledged that Dr Wilson was entitled to his personal views about vaccines, she claimed his actions went "far beyond legitimate debate and minority opinion."
The committee will forward its findings together with a recommended sanction, which is not made public, to the Medical Council for determination.
During his time in Ireland, Dr Wilson - a former pilot with the South African Air Force - has worked in Dublin, Wexford and Maynooth before establishing his current clinic in Kilcock.
