Prior to the election, I published a letter on my website titles “An Open Letter to AHPRA from Australian Allied Health Practitioners, Nurses & Doctors.” The aim of this letter was to inform the Federal Government that health professionals were being gagged or facing disciplinary action by AHPRA for discussing the Covid-19 Vaccine side effects, all thanks to AHPRA’s Covid Position Statement from March 2021.
I have just informed the new Federal Health Minister, Mark Butler MP, of this campaign’s results which in total were 2,098 healthcare professionals, comprising of 525 doctors & specialists (title of Dr.) and 1,573 nurses and Allied Health Professionals.
This is a considerable number of professionals who had the courage to stand up, put their name to the letter (confidentially of course) and help me seek change.
In my letter to the Minister, I have further requested that he restore the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship and that AHPRA’s ability to impose such restrictions be removed immediately, this includes any directives given to them by the Health Ministers Meeting (formerly COAG Health Council).
With your help, we have continued to put pressure on AHPRA and the government and also brought to light the overbearing government control that is currently in the health sector; medical professionals should never be silenced, intimidated nor stopped from providing safe healthcare to their patients.
You can read the letter below or download it here.
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The Hon. Mark Butler MP
Minister for Health and Aged Care
PO Box 6022
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
2 August 2022
Dear Minister,
RE: The removal of AHPRA’s issuance of gag orders to Allied Health Practitioners, Nurses and Doctors
Dear Minister,
I write to you to seek your Government’s assistance to have the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) immediately remove its Covid-19 vaccines gag order placed on health practitioners who exercise their legal rights and obligation to their patients. AHPRA’s Position Statement of March 2021 effectively initiated a gag order which is a violation of the doctor-patient relationship and I believe in conflict with the Doctor’s Code of Conduct and the other near identical Codes of Conduct for the other Medical Boards. Doctors are currently unable to write vaccine exemptions for patients who are Covid-vaccine injured or give their professional opinion regarding the risks associated. Currently there are several doctors suspended by AHPRA just because they provided individual assessments for their patients and exemptions; these doctors are now tied up in legal battles rather than being available to work and take the pressure off our health system. Furthermore, my office has been contacted by nurses who received disciplinary letters from AHPRA for discuss the risks involved in the vaccine, through their social media channels.
A group of doctors have recently sought my assistance in making representation to you in order to stop AHPRA’s overreach which they say threatens them with regulatory action, should they speak against the Government’s Public Health Policy regarding the rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations.
A letter entitled, “An Open Letter to AHPRA from Australian Allied Health Practitioners, Nurses,
Midwives & Doctors” (please see attached), which was published on my website, has been signed by 2,098 healthcare professionals who are concerned about their ability to care for their patients under these orders. Out of the total number of healthcare professionals stated above, 525 of these were doctors or specialists and 1,573 informed my office that they were another health professional such as a nurse or allied health practitioner.
On behalf of these health professionals, I ask that the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship be restored and that AHPRA’s ability to impose such restrictions be removed immediately, this includes any directives given to AHPRA by the Health Ministers Meeting (formerly COAG Health Council).
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Gerard Rennick
LNP Senator for Queensland
Download the letter: The removal of AHPRA’s issuance of gag orders to Allied Health Practitioners, Nurses and Doctors
