14 NEWS
14 NEWS
20 JUNE 2025 ausdoc. com. au
GP called psychologist a‘ skank’
The GP also said CPD was a‘ joke’.
Heather Saxena A GP who said CPD was pointless and that he did not need to update his medical knowledge— despite graduating in 1969— has lost a legal fight against emergency suspension.
The GP, 80, had faced almost a dozen complaints, including five in 2023 that were mainly about his communication, before the Medical Council of NSW suspended him under emergency powers.
A neuropsychologist assessed the GP and concluded he was impaired and possibly in the early stages of a neurodegenerative process, predominantly frontal and parietal type, with little insight into his cognitive deficits.
Psychiatric assessment concluded that age-related mild cognitive impairment seemed likely.
“ Ten complaints in the last 25 years mostly reflect his communication style, with several complaints alleging
that he was rude or dismissive,” the psychiatrist reported.
“ It is notable that there has
PAIN RELIEF THAT LASTS THE WORKING DAY
With once or twice daily dosing 1-6 *
* Directions – First Day: Initial Dose 2 capsules. Subsequent Days: 1 capsule once or twice daily.
A working day is typically 8-12 hours.
NEW
‘ I don’ t take shit’ and‘ I don’ t do superficial niceties’.
been an acceleration of complaints, given half have been in the last two years, leading to consideration of an age-related neurocognitive disorder.”
The GP, who had been working two days a week as a locum, was suspended following an impaired registrants panel( IRP) hearing, where he told the panel:“ I am an unpleasant human being, but I am not demented,” as well as“ I don’ t take shit,” and“ I don’ t
do superficial niceties.”
According to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, the GP told the IRP that CPD was a“ joke” and“ not a lot” had changed in medicine since he had graduated.
When asked for a CPD activity that had benefited him,“ he nominated his ability now to separate his clinical persona from his personal attitudes when he treated lesbian women”.
“ He no longer started from the position that they had a disease, and he no longer smirks.
“ He understands now that they have a legitimate right to their lifestyle.”
The tribunal said the GP had called the neuropsychologist who had assessed him a“ depraved liar” and“ skank”.
Citing the Oxford Dictionary, the tribunal noted skank was“ a derogatory term for a disreputable or sleazy person and, more specifically, a woman who has many casual sexual encounters or relationships”.
The GP accused the neuropsychologist of focusing unfairly on his visual – spatial skills in her assessment because he was an Ashkenazi Jew: a group known to be weak in these skills.
Upholding the emergency suspension, the tribunal concluded,“ over and above” the evidence of cognitive impairment, the GP’ s communication posed a significant risk to public health and safety.
COVID-19 vax items up sticks
SIMPLE DOSING: ONCE OR TWICE DAILY 1
STARTS WORKING IN ~ 30 MINS 6, 7 †
GI SAFETY PROFILE OF A SELECTIVE COX-2 NSAID 1, 8-11
†
The median( 95 % confidence interval) time to onset of analgesia was 28( 22-33) minutes with a 400 mg dose post-oral surgery. 7 CELEBREX RELIEF ® is not indicated for post-surgical pain. 1
NOW AVAILABLE WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION FOR PAIN RELIEF FROM MUSCLE AND JOINT INJURIES 1
Before recommending please review the full Product Information, scan here
References: 1. CELEBREX RELIEF ® Product Information. 2. Ekman EF et al. Am J Orthop 2002; 31( 8): 445-451. 3. Petri M et al. J Rheumatol 2004; 31( 8): 1614-1620. 4. Ralha LV et al. Revista Brasileira de Medicina 2008; 65( 11): 378-387. 5. Bertin P et al. J Int Med Res 2003; 31( 2): 102-112. 6. Cheung R et al. Clin Ther 2007; 29:2498 – 2510. 7. CELEBREX ® Product Information 12 / 10 / 2021. 8. Chan FKL et al. Lancet 2010; 376:173-179. 9. Tai FWD, McAlindon ME. Clin Med( Lond) 2021; 21( 2): 131-134. 10. Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists & the Faculty of Pain Medicine. PS41( G). Position statement on acute pain management 2023. Available at: https:// www. anzca. edu. au / safety-advocacy / standards-of-practice / policies,-statements,-and-guidelines; Accessed October 2024. 11. Bhala N et al. Lancet 2013; 382:769-79( incl. Suppl Appendix).
CELEBREX RELIEF ® contains celecoxib 200 mg. Indications: For the short-term treatment of acute pain in adults with musculoskeletal and / or soft tissue injury, and primary dysmenorrhea.
CELEBREX RELIEF ® is a Viatris company trademark. Copyright © 2024 Viatris Inc. All rights reserved. Viatris Pty Ltd. 30 – 34 Hickson Rd Millers Point, NSW 2000, Australia. ABN: 29 601 608 771. Call: 1800 274 276. AU-CELE-2024-00041. Date of preparation: December 2024.
Antony Scholefield AFTER more than 30 million claims, more than $ 1 billion dollars in rebates and much controversy, the Medicare items for COVID-19 vaccination are departing.
The Federal Government says the 13 remaining MBS items will end on 1 July as it moves to“ business as usual”, with no mandatory bulk-billing requirements and GPs expected to use typical time-tiered consultation items.
The items began in February 2021 and technically funded“ vaccination suitability assessment” rather than vaccine administration so GPs had funding even if patients turned out ineligible.
Ultimately, more than 60 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with slightly fewer than half of these in general practice.