A former TVNZ presenter and doctor had his medical record canceled and was ordered to pay more than $ 148,000 after posting Covid-19 misinformation on the Youtube channel, which accumulated about 18 million views.
While the Disciplinary Court of the Health Professional (HPDT) issued Samantha Bailey with his decision last year, the result of the investigation of years about his conduct was only publicly released yesterday.
Bailey, by Christchurch, who was previously one of the four presenters of the TVNZ health series The check -upHe posted videos on his channel commenting on the “mythology” of the effectiveness of the vaccine while publicizing his medical and scientific education.
In many videos, she promoted a book that was co-author who analyzed “how the medical industry continually invents epidemics, making billions of dollars at our expense.”
Another video stated that she was fired from her role on TV for not “maintaining the narrative” about the Covid-19 vaccine.
The medical advice received 15 complaints about Bailey’s videos and, by 2021, she tried to prevent her investigation requesting a judicial review.
However, this was refused by the Supreme Court and the board finally accused Bailey of spreading “misleading and inadequate” information.
Although freedom of expression is protected under the Law of the Declaration of Rights, medical professionals, according to their Code of Ethics, have a “limitation in this right” and any robust debate in which it is involved must be well grounded and expressed in a balanced way.
In 2023, the board’s accusations were heard at HPDT, but Bailey did not attend the hearing.
However, a week before her audience, she posted a video titled “Will I be impressed?”, Alleging that the court “does not even pretend to be impartial” and was “framed from the beginning.”
She labeled him as “Kangaroo Court” and stated that if she were overthrown, she would be a “distinctive of honor.”
Bailey also said he would not pay any costs if ordered to do so and would not want to return to the medical profession.
In the resulting decision of the HPDT, he found that she “transmitted wrong information to a large audience and, by doing so
“She published extensively and refused to address the concerns raised by the medical council. The conduct is objectively serious.”
The court ordered it to pay $ 148,450.41 in legal costs that the Council for Professional Conduct Committee incurred in prosecution, which the decision stated only 60% of what it spent in the case.
She was also fined $ 10,000 and her record was canceled.
Bailey should not request registration for two years from the date of the decision, he said, although she has not committed since 2021.
‘Conspiracy Theory Marks’
The board’s lawyers told HPDT that the videos Bailey published violated the standards of good medical practices, which required doctors not to allow personal beliefs to affect their councils, to ensure that the information they transmitted was factual and verifiable and recognize the limits of their competence and exercise caution in publishing public access information.
The advice has already made it clear that while individuals are entitled to their opinions, there was no place for anti-vacation messages in professional health practice.
At the HPDT hearing, the council lawyers called three specialized witnesses; A doctor from infectious diseases, a vacinologist and a misinformation specialist.
The three concluded that information in Bailey’s videos was in disagreement with the best medical evidence about Covid-19 and its causes, prevention, treatment and diagnosis.
“With very few exceptions, the positions that the practitioner assumes in each of the videos mentioned in the accusation are not in the field of legitimate scientific debate and have the characteristics of conspiracy theory,” his observations said.
Although Bailey did not attend the hearing, she made submissions in which she said she was entitled to express opinions that differ from the government’s position, which researched the videos before publishing them and was trying to shed light on the topics her audience was confused.
Bailey also said that the number of complaints to the board compared to the opinions that their videos received suggested public support to them. She questioned the legitimacy of complaints and suggested that there were hidden political motives.
‘Described for the medical profession’
The court analyzed each of the 23 videos related to the charges against Bailey and found that they were all inaccurate and misleading.
While some have already been removed by Youtube under their medical misinformation policy, others were removed by Bailey.
In some videos, Bailey made personal attacks to Dr. Siouxsie Wiles and Dr. Michael Baker, who were at the forefront of New Zealand’s pandemic response.
“… these comments would probably lead those who watched her videos to distrust the councils being given to the government of New Zealand and the consequent response to public health,” the court found.
“The practitioner’s conduct had the potential to have significant impacts, undermining public trust in experts advising New Zealand’s public health response to Covid-19.
“By attacking her reputation she brought or probably bring discrediting the medical profession as a whole.”
The costs involved reflect the complexity of the case
In response to NZME questions about the cost of the prosecution, Medical Council chairman Rachelle Love said the legal costs of the case included preparation for audiences, gathering evidence, expert opinions and ensuring that the process was fair and complete.
She said the advice was responsible for taking action when concerns about the practice of a doctor arise.
“The cost of any disciplinary process reflects the complexity of the case, the need to follow the due process and the legal requirements involved,” she said.
“Although we are aware of costs, our priority is to ensure that professional standards are maintained and that the public can have confidence in the medical profession.”
Bailey did not respond to a request for comment.
