Covid: Powys doctor given nine-month ban for false claims

Dr Sarah Myhill, pictured in 2010, recommended taking vitamins to tackle the threat of Covid

A private doctor who put false claims about Covid-19 treatments online has been banned from practising for nine months after a medical tribunal.

Sarah Myhill, based in Powys, posted videos and articles advocating taking vitamins and other substances in high doses, without evidence they worked.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service found her recommendations "undermined public health".

She was also selling the substances she recommended on her website.

The tribunal found some of her recommendations had the potential to cause "serious harm" and "potentially fatal toxicity".

She did not attend the hearing in Manchester.

Dr Sarah Myhill said she had no intention to appeal the GMC decision and would continue to work as a naturopathic physician.

She added that the use of nutritional supplements was "extremely safe" and she would continue to advocate the use of dietary and lifestyle changes to improve health.

The tribunal was told she uploaded a series of videos and articles between March and May 2020, describing substances as "safe nutritional interventions" which she said meant vaccinations were "rendered irrelevant".

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But the substances she promoted were not universally safe and have potential serious health risks associated with them, the panel was told.

There was also no evidence to suggest they would be effective.

Dr Myhill also discredited the use of face masks.

The tribunal found Dr 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".

Dr Myhill's fitness to practise was impaired, a medical tribunal found

Dr Myhill previously had a year-long ban lifted after a General Medical Council (GMC) investigation into her claims of being a "pioneer" in the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome.

The tribunal additionally found Dr Myhill had put a patient with a potentially fractured hip at risk by failing to ensure they were taken to hospital and that her fitness to practise was also impaired as a result.

The hearing was told there had been 30 previous GMC investigations into Dr 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."

Dr Myhill said she had no intention to appeal the GMC decision and would continue to work as a naturopathic physician.

She added that the use of nutritional supplements was "extremely safe" and she would continue to advocate the use of dietary and lifestyle changes to improve health.