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AUSTRALIAN DOCTOR SUSPENDED
AFTER HELPING CANCER PATIENT
By Eve Hillary
Updated 18/10/04
Doctors around the world are being deregistered in droves by their
respective medical boards for doing nothing more than helping their
patients with nutritional and naturally based treatments.
Recent de-registrants pressured into handing in their licenses by the
Board include notable pioneers in natural treatments including Dr.
Durrant-Peatfield a UK doctor specializing in natural therapies for
thyroid, adrenal and chronic fatigue conditions. Dr. Serafina Corsello a
respected holistic physician, had her medical license suspended by her
State Medical Board last year, for doing nothing more than using naturally
based treatments. Among those relentlessly harassed by their medical
boards were: Dr. Revici, an internationally respected pioneer in the
treatment of cancer by nutritional and natural means; Dr. Warren Levine,
who founded the first Holistic Health Center in New York having helped
thousands of patients during the nearly 30 years he was in practice; Dr.
Nicholas Gonzales, also deregistered had been granted a sizeable sum by
the National Cancer Institute to conduct testing on alternative cancer
therapy. The
medical board of New Jersey deregistered Dr. Eric R. Braverman MD,
clinician and author, after authorities noted his unique research and his
success in treating serious conditions with holistic therapies.
In
Australia Dr. Eckard Roehrich, had his license to practice medicine
suspended on 21 September 2004. The Medical Board’s action began just
after he gave testimony in court on behalf of a family whose 11 year old
daughter was forced to have chemotherapy against her wishes and those of
her parents. The child’s treating oncologist at the John Hunter Hospital
in Newcastle contacted the department of community services which
instigated the forced treatment by way of a court order.
Dr. Roehrich, the family’s primary physician practiced integrative
medicine, a combination of orthodox, complementary and evidence-based
alternative approaches to medicine. He had made several attempts to gain
humanitarian concessions for the child who was incarcerated in the
hospital without privileges such as a familiar diet, nutritional
supplements, regular walks out doors and visits from friends. The hospital
oncologist however, would not allow these concessions. On one occasion,
when her parents’ visiting hours were severely restricted by the welfare
department, the girl tried to escape the hospital and was returned to the
ward and put on 24 hour watch.
Not long after his court appearance on behalf of the child and her family,
Dr. Roehrich began to receive letters from the New South Wales Medical
Board. The Board notified him that its delegates intended entering the
doctor’s clinic to inspect his records and premises. When the doctor
required the Board to provide him with a reason for its intended entry
into his clinic without his consent, he was hauled up before a special
committee. After a short deliberation the 3 member New South Wales Medical
Board Committee suspended his license to practice medicine on 21 September
2004. The Board allotted 3 days for Dr. Roehrich to wind up his practice
leaving his over 1000 patients without medical care. The doctor’s clinic
was located in an area of acute doctor shortage. Many of his seriously ill
patients were in the middle of treatments which had started to improve
their health.
The
doctor’s suspension has caused a community backlash against the Medical
Board. The NSW Medical Board’s action against Dr. Roehrich comes after its
decision earlier in the year to clear four doctors who were investigated
for poor practice after 14 deaths occurred at the Campbelltown and Camden
Hospitals west of Sydney. According to a Sydney Morning Herald article on
23/1/04 the Medical Board cleared the doctors even before a special
inquiry could complete its investigations into the deaths.
Dr. Roehrich maintains he was intensively targeted by the Medical Board
shortly after he testified for the family that was besieged by the
department of community services. He maintains when the welfare department
forced the child to have chemotherapy, he felt it was his duty to help the
family to reclaim their right to choose any valid treatment options for
their child.
UPDATE
Ten days after the Medical Board suspended his license Dr. Roehrich called
an emergency community meeting at Gosford. The doctor’s patients and
members of the community filled the 450 seat venue to capacity at the
start of the meeting. Some attendees had traveled long distances, coming
from as far away as Sydney and the South Coast to hear what Dr. Roehrich
had to say.
The speakers included Don Benjamin, founder of the Cancer Information and
Support Society who spoke about scores of pioneers of natural cancer
treatments who had been hounded by authorities for doing nothing more than
treating patients successfully with non-pharmaceutically based treatments.
Dr. Helen Hayward-Brown, spoke about the escalating abuses by government
departments such as DoCS against families with children who have
hard-to-diagnose illnesses. Michael Woods, a director of the Citizen’s
Committee on Human Rights presented information about medical abuses
against persons that are wrongly diagnosed by authorities as having mental
illness and subsequently treated and medicated against their will. The
final speaker was Malcolm McClure, founder of UPMART, an association for
the protection of human rights. Mr. McClure spoke on the night about his
involvement with “helping communities uphold their freedoms and rights”.
The speakers set the scene for those who had been unaware that Dr.
Roehrich has made a stand against some of these issues by supporting many
of the victims of these types of abuses. Softly spoken and mild mannered,
Dr. Roehrich maintains he feels obligated to help people to “re-claim
their human rights”. In doing so, the doctor admits, “I suppose I’ve
stepped on some big toes”.
In his first public appearance, the father of the child, for whom Dr.
Roehrich had stood up in court, gave a heartrending account of his
family’s hardships that followed the treatment their child was forced to
endure. The morning after the community meeting the family left for an
interstate destination with their sick daughter to seek the naturally
based treatment that she had received during the previous year, allegedly
with good effect. The child’s father said, “She’s taken sick after Dr.
Roehrich hasn’t been able to give her the treatments, since the Medical
Board suspended his license. She’s gone down hill fast in the last few
weeks.” The child, whose name cannot be published for legal reasons, is
now in serious condition.
During the meeting Dr. Roehrich maintained that he had to put on extra
staff and issue a special Hotline number to accommodate the numbers of
patients who had rung his surgery following his suspension. Dr. Roehrich’s
staff confirms that many patients are claiming their health has
deteriorated after their treatment was abruptly discontinued after the
Medical Board’s decision. The doctor claims he has received hundreds of
calls and letters from patients and others expressing their concern about
the Medical Board’s actions and offering their support. The community
meeting ended with hundreds signing a petition and filling out forms that
may in time form a class action of persons aggrieved by the Medical
Board’s decision.
Dr. Roehrich maintains he telephoned and wrote to Mr. Dix of the Medical
Board to ask what would become of his patients if they had been harmed by
the interruption to their treatments. Dr. Roehrich said, “I still have not
received any proper answers as to what reasons the board has to take this
action and as to what will happen to my patients.” (see Dr. Roehrich’s
letter to Mr. Dix of the Medical Board)
The Child known as “Lisa” in publications by previous Court order,
meanwhile passed away in another State after the family took her on a
mercy mission to locate similar treatment. The treatment could not be
found in time, however and after a short period of hospitalization, Sarah
died with her family in attendance. The 13 year old girl, whose name is
Sarah Westley was buried on the family property overlooking the homestead
on Saturday the 30th October with over 250 mourners present.
For more details click here.
Another meeting is planned for persons who wish to be updated about this
issue and become informed and involved with this and other Health Freedom
Issues.
For future updates on this story and meeting dates go to:
Speaking Events
Interviews are available on request contact: evehillary@smartchat.net.au
Please pass into e-mail lists for general and urgent distribution.
More Information about the War against Holistic doctors and non drug
prescribing psychiatrists:
http://www.corsello.com/politics/WarAgainstMedicine.pdf
http://askwaltstollmd.com/body_sitemap.html
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_2002_August-Sept/ai_90794483
http://www.corsello.com/politics.htm
http://www.thefinchleyclinic.co.uk/nojavascript/therapies/pioneers.htm
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