Doctor who told patients to hold Omicron parties named

by Katie Townshend

Golden Bay doctor Bruce Dooley encouraged patients to hold Omicron parties and treat the virus with an unapproved medicine he sold to them, a disciplinary panel has heard.

On Wednesday, the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal concluded a two-day hearing into the actions of Dooley, who sent misleading emails to patients and made public comments on COVID that were inaccurate, misleading, “inconsistent with best available evidence”, and “likely to endanger the public health response”.

Suppression of the doctor’s name and location lapsed at the end of the hearing. Neither he, nor his lawyer, appeared before the tribunal.

He was also charged with prescribing and supplying Ivermectin he had bought in bulk from a compounding pharmacy.

Between November 16, 2021, and March 31, 2022 Dooley prescribed and supplied the medicine to between 62 and 250 people, through “Ivermectin kits”, according to the disciplinary charge from the Professional Conduct Committee.

The exact number was unknown as Dooley had not kept proper records, the panel was told.

Ivermectin is a prescription medicine typically used to treat parasites.

At the end of the hearing, the panel indicated they were satisfied all charges except two points had been established, and that Dooley’s conduct had amounted to “professional misconduct”.

It did not uphold allegations he had added to fear and uncertainty in his community about COVID-19, or that he had failed to adequately follow up with patients.

On Wednesday, counsel for the Professional Conduct Committee Samantha Ward said Dooley encouraged patients to catch COVID by advocating that the immunity gained from infection was better than vaccination.

She pointed to an email he sent on November 30, 2021, which stated that the expected arrival of the Delta strain was “good news”.

“He encouraged people to get infected,” Ward said.

“He was encouraging people to see Ivermectin and not being vaccinated as a viable alternative to being vaccinated.”

Dooley was “clearly aware” of the established medical opinion that Ivermectin was not suitable for treating COVID, but did not make this clear to patients, she said.

In his email “manifesto”, attached to the charge document, Dooley described Ivermectin as a “Nobel Prize winning medication”, which was “extremely safe and very effective” against COVID.

The doctor said he had a “good supply” for around 80 patients, and those who wanted to reserve a course were invited to submit a reservation payment of either $120 or $160 depending on the patient’s weight.

Ward said the email amounted to advertising, and he supplied and prescribed a drug without following best practise, while profiting from the sale of the medication.

The email was marked urgent and gave patients only one day to make a decision, which left little time for them to research the options or discuss the matter with a doctor, Ward said.

His actions fell “well short of the standards of doctors when prescribing any medication, let alone a medication for a purpose for which it is not approved”.

“Prescribing is a privilege afforded to doctors and comes with significant responsibilities.”

The email also included a comment encouraging people to bring back chicken pox parties, a suggestion that was also made in the independent newspaper The GB Thinker, where he was quoted as saying “remember chicken pox parties? Why aren’t we having Omicron parties for the low risk population?”.

After the panel indicated its findings, Ward said the penalty should be the cancellation of his medical registration, with a two-year wait before he could reapply, along with censure and education requirements.

Cancellation was appropriate because of the seriousness of his actions, she said.

“Not only was there potential to harm those individual patients, the information he shared had the potential to undermine the public health response in a time of pandemic.”

There was little likelihood of rehabilitation, as Dooley had shown no remorse and “believes that he is being persecuted as part of a wider conspiracy”, Ward said.

“He seems to have no comprehension of why his conduct may have been unprofessional ... the tribunal can have no confidence there is a reasonable expectation of rehabilitation.”

The decision, including penalty and costs, will be finalised in writing by the tribunal.

This story has been republished with permission from The Nelson Mail