GP suspended after pushing vitamins and ivermectin to treat COVID
A doctor has been banned for practicing for nine months after recommending high doses of vitamins to treat COVID-19.
Private practitioner Dr Sarah Myhill, 64, posted online videos and articles advocating taking vitamins and other substances in high doses.
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service found her recommendations "undermined public health" without proof that they worked.
A disciplinary hearing was told she was also selling the substances she recommended on her website - and that some could have caused "serious harm" and "potentially fatal toxicity".
The tribunal was told that Myhill uploaded a series of videos and articles at the start of the pandemic between March and May 2020.
She described substances as "safe nutritional interventions" which she said meant vaccinations were "rendered irrelevant".
But the substances Myhill promoted were not universally safe and had potentially serious health risks associated with them, the panel was told. There was also no evidence to suggest they would be effective.
According to the British Medical Journal, Myhill endorsed high doses of vitamins and the inhalation of iodine through a salt pipe for the treatment of infections such as COVID. She also promoted the use of ivermectin on her website without making clear the potential risks.
“These agents risked patient safety in that they exposed patients to potential serious harm, including toxicity,” said tribunal chair Julia Oakford.
She said Myhill “should have notified the public and her patients that the treatment was not licensed, not universally safe, and that there were potential health risks associated with using the treatment in the manner she recommended.”
Myhill also discredited the use of face masks.
The tribunal found Myhill "does not practice evidence-based medicine and may encourage false reassurance in her patients who may believe that they will not catch COVID-19 or other infections if they follow her advice".
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Myhill was also found guilty of serious misconduct in failing to reconsider her treatment plan after she failed to diagnose a fractured hip in a patient who had a fall, and in not recommending his admission to hospital when his condition had not improved. It said her fitness to practise was also impaired as a result.
Myhill previously had a year-long ban lifted after a GMC investigation into her claims of being a "pioneer" in the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome.
The hearing was told there had been 30 previous GMC investigations into Myhill, but none had resulted in findings of misconduct.
The tribunal concluded: "Given the circumstances of this case, it is necessary to protect members of the public and in the public interest to make an order suspending Dr Myhill's registration with immediate effect, to uphold and maintain professional standards and maintain public confidence in the profession."
Myhill, of Knighton, Powys, did not attend the hearing.
