Another Melbourne chiropractor admits to treating new born babies in maternity wards

With so much community pressure now being applied to the chiropractic profession it boggles the mind that there are still new examples of chiropractors entering hospitals without authorisation. Only yesterday we provided this chronology:

In November 2013, the then-president of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia, Laurie Tassell, tore his members a collective new one in his president’s report, published in the official periodical of the CAA, The Australian Chiropractor:

“The damage to the profession from the unprofessional use of social media – personal attacks on chiropractors who might hold different views to you, bragging about entering hospitals without permission…are not acceptable.”

When we fast-forward two years, to 2015, sanctions were indeed handed out to some of the chiropractors who had admitted to sneaking into hospitals (but, strangely, not all of them).

This list was in addition to the new example, uncovered only yesterday, of a Queensland chiropractor adjusting a patient in the Cairns Hospital intensive care unit.

Today we can uncover yet another example, taken from the website of this chiropractor:

Beaumont 1 profile photo public

Bianca Beaumont is a registered chiropractor in Melbourne:

Beaumont 1 AHPRA rego

Beaumont is/was a member of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia. She is/was a professional member of the disgraced anti-vaccination pressure group, the Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network (which is now the holder of a public health warning against its name). Beaumont is/was also a member of the US anti-vaccination, pediatric chiropractic organisation, the ICPA, run by antivax chiropractor, Jeanne Ohm. And she is/was a member of the subluxationist, anti-vaccination-infected Australian Spinal Research Foundation.

Beaumont owns a business called Body in Balance Chiropractic, in Melbourne. On her website she notes her substantial reach into the sporting and entertainment industries:

Dr Beaumont’s practice originally focussed on professional athletes because of her links to Australian Rules Football through her husband, professional AFL footballer Simon Beaumont. Simon’s history as a professional footballer for 10 years at The Carlton Football Club and then 2 years at The Hawthorn Football Club and Bianca’s regular appearances on the FOX FOOTY CHANNEL’S Hit show “Living With” resulted in a practice seeing many of professional athletes . . . and footy fans!

On October 29 2015, Beaumont posted this article on her Facebook page:

Beaumont 2 post to website treating baby in hospital

The Facebook post leads to this article, posted on October 27 2015. The attached photo clearly shows Beaumont treating a newborn baby in a maternity ward; and the introduction notes that Beaumont treats pregnant women “to encourage breech babies to turn”:

At Body In Balance we see many pregnant women. Some come in for relief of back pain, some to encourage breech babies to turn and many to stay well and prepare their bodies for the birth.

Beaumont 2 treating baby in hospital October 27 2015 website article

On her Chiropractic for Kids webpage, Beaumont confirms for us that she does indeed enter hospitals to treat newborn babies:

Our family wellness clients enjoy having our Chiropractors visit them at home or in hospital to have the newest members of their family checked!

And Beaumont includes these claims, now deemed illegal by the Chiropractic Board of Australia, on March 7 2016:

Research has shown that care from a Chiropractor may help relieve asthma, colic, ear infections and behavioural problems, just to name a few! Importantly, the treatment our Chiropractors delivered your kids are safe.

Beaumont 3 website kids page treat in hospital

Also on her Chiropractic for Kids webpage, Beaumont links to the ICPA, as well as the anti-vaccination group, the Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network. Beaumont also claims to receive referrals from maternal and child healthcare nurses. It is  important to note, here, that the use of “Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network” indicates that Beaumont added this section after the AVN was ordered to change its name, in November 2013; this is a full three months after the Chiropractic Board of Australia ordered chiropractors to  remove anti-vaccination misinformation from their websites and online fora, in August 2013:

While we do receive referrals from Maternal and Child Health Care Nurses and Health Providers a referral is not necessary. You are welcome to bring your child in to be checked by one of our fully qualified and experienced chiropractors at any time.

To learn more about chiropractic care for children, go to the international chiropractic paediatric association’s website at www.icpa4kids.org

You may also be interested in reading the Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network website: www.avn.org.au

Beaumont 4 website kids page AVN ICPA

Indeed, the AVN Facebook page appears on Beaumont’s business page’s likes:

Beaumont 4 AVN liked on Fb

Pertinent to today’s examples, in its March 7 2016 statement, the Chiropractic Board of Australia stated the following, regarding misleading claims still being made by chiropractors:

Of particular concern is the number of treatment claims in advertising relating to infants and children. Claims suggesting that manual therapy for spinal problems can assist with general wellness and/or benefit a variety of paediatric syndromes and organic conditions are not supported by satisfactory evidence. This includes claims relating to developmental and behavioural disorders, ADHD, autistic spectrum disorders, asthma, infantile colic, bedwetting, ear infections and digestive problems.

And:

Care of pregnant patients

Chiropractors are not trained to apply any direct treatment to an unborn child and should not deliver any treatment to the unborn child. Chiropractic care must not be represented or provided as treatment to the unborn child as an obstetric breech correction technique.

Worryingly, in addition to the demonstrable breaches noted above, Beaumont cites the Webster technique, and Jeanne Ohm, on her website:

The Webster Technique is defined as a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment that reduces interference to the nervous system and facilitates biochemical balance in pelvic structures, muscles and ligaments. This has been shown to reduce the effects of intrauterine constraint. Put simply, our Chiropractors in Melbourne help during pregnancy by allowing your baby to get themselves into the best possible position for birth.

Dr. Larry Webster, founder of the International Chiropractic Paediatric Association discovered this technique to be a safe means of restoring proper pelvic balance and function for pregnant mothers. It has been successfully used in women whose babies (including twins) present breech, transverse and posterior as well. Any position of the baby other than ROA may indicate the presence of sacral sublaxation (misalignment of the base of your pelvis) and therefore intrauterine constraint. (See: ‘Sublaxation’ on our FAQs page.)

At Body in Balance, Dr. Bianca Beaumont was trained by Dr. Jeanne Ohm, the leading consultant of The International Chiropractic Paediatric Association, and mother of six home-delivered children.

Beaumont 5 website pregnancy page Webster Jeanne Ohm

For an examination of the Webster technique, and Jeanne Ohm, see this article on The Conversation, by Dr Michael Vagg: Chiropractic care in pregnancy and childhood – a castle built on a swamp.

On Beaumont’s Facebook page there are some more posts of concern.

On December 11 2015, Beaumont promoted amber teething necklaces, which have their own public health warning as a choking hazard. Beaumont also claimed that adjustments are a treatment for teething:

Beaumont 6 baby amber teething necklace

On May 25 2015, Beaumont made these claims regarding chiropractic care for toddlers and children:

Beaumont 7 bedwetting colic ear infections

On April 2015, Beaumont promoted chiropractic adjustments for the treatment of “meh”:

Beaumont 8 adjustment for meh

These testimonials also appear on Beaumont’s Facebook page:

Beaumont 9 testimonials

The following addenda contain excerpts from the Chiropractic Board of Australia’s codes, guidelines, and social media policy from which the reader may wish to choose when lodging any complaint about Bianca Beaumont and Body in Balance Chiropractic.

Thanks for reading.

_____________________________________

Addendum 1

Code of conduct for chiropractors.

1.2 Professional values and qualities

[Practitioners] have a duty to keep their skills and knowledge up to date, refine and develop their clinical judgement as they gain experience, and contribute to their profession.

All practitioners have a responsibility to recognise and work within the limits of their competence, scope and areas of practice. Areas of practice vary according to different roles; for example, health practitioners, education providers, researchers and managers will all have quite different competencies and scopes of practice.

2.1 Providing good care. Introduction

a appropriately assessing the patient, taking into account their history (history includes relevant psychological, social and cultural aspects), views and conducting an appropriate physical examination

b ensuring that the diagnosis/clinical impression is appropriate, relevant, justifiable and based on sound clinical reasoning

d formulating and implementing a reasonable management plan (including providing treatment/care and advice and, where relevant, arranging investigations and liaising with other treating practitioners)

2.2 Good practice

a recognising and working within the limits of the chiropractor’s competence and scope and area of practice, which may change over time

b maintaining adequate knowledge and skills to provide safe and effective care, including providing treatment/care and advice and where relevant, arranging investigations and liaising with, or referring to, other health professionals

e considering the balance of benefit and harm in all clinical management decisions

g providing treatment/care options based on the best available information and practising in an evidence-based context and not being influenced by financial gain or incentives

h ensuring that services offered are provided with the best possible skill, care and competence

m ensuring that the chiropractor’s personal views do not adversely affect the care of their patients, and

n evaluating practice and the decisions made and action taken in providing good care.

3.4 Confidentiality and privacy

b seeking consent from patients before disclosing or sharing information

g ensuring that all staff are aware of the need to respect the confidentiality and privacy of patients and refrain from discussing patients in a non-professional context

j ensuring that use of social media and e-health is consistent with the practitioner’s ethical and legal obligations to protect privacy

3.5 Informed consent

b providing an explanation of the treatment/care recommended, its likely duration, expected benefits and cost, any alternative(s) to the proposed care, their relative risks/benefits, as well as the likely consequences of no care

c obtaining informed consent or other valid authority before undertaking any examination or investigation, providing treatment/care (this may not be possible in an emergency) or involving patients in teaching or research, including providing information on material risks

3.6 Informed financial consent

a ensuring that any financial agreement is based on the clinical needs of the patient

3.7 Children and young people

b placing the interests and wellbeing of the child or young person first

d ensuring informed consent to providing care for children involves the patient’s parent and/or guardian being provided with clinically relevant information for the chiropractic management of the child; unless a chiropractor judges that a child is of sufficient age and mental and emotional capacity to give their own consent to a service and relevant state and territory laws are complied with

e ensuring that risks of care and alternatives to care are sufficiently explained as these are essential elements of informed consent

4.1 Use of diagnostic and therapeutic modalities in chiropractic practice

a a full and thorough assessment of patients using tools, tests and procedures that are appropriate for the gathering of information necessary to form a reasonable diagnosis or clinical impression

c only using diagnostic tools, tests and procedures in accordance with established protocols for their appropriate use

d evaluating and reporting the data obtained in a contextual way to ensure that a reasonable and relevant diagnosis/clinical impression is formed, and that appropriate and necessary care is provided

e when using tools, tests and procedures in formulating a diagnosis/clinical impression, management plan and/or for prognostic purposes, the tools used should be for conditions where there are demonstrated acceptable levels of reliability and validity, and

f not misrepresenting the clinical value or significance of the findings of any tool, test or procedure.

5.1 Respect for colleagues and other practitioners

b acknowledging and respecting the contribution of all practitioners involved in patient care

6.4 Public health matters

a understanding the principles of public health, including health education, health promotion, disease prevention, and control and screening

b participating in efforts to promote the health of the community and being aware of obligations in disease prevention, including screening and reporting notifiable diseases where relevant

6.5 Provision of care in a healthcare facility

Good practice involves:

a seeking permission to access and provide care

b adhering to and following the policies and procedures of the facility

c communicating effectively with other practitioners involved in the management of the patient

d keeping the the facility informed of any care

e ensuring professional indemnity insurance (PII) coverage to cover care in that facility, and

f keeping adequate records.

9.6 Advertising

a complying with the National Board’s Advertising guidelines and relevant state and territory legislation and Commonwealth law.

b making sure that any information published about services is factual and verifiable

10.2 Chiropractors’ health

c understanding the principles of immunisation against communicable diseases

_____________________________________

Addendum 2

Guidelines for advertising regulated health services

6.2 Prohibited advertising under the National Law

Section 133 of the National Law prohibits advertising that:

– is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to be so
– offers a gift, discount or other inducement to attract a user of the health service without stating the terms and conditions of the offer
– uses testimonials or purported testimonials
– creates an unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment, and/or
– encourages the indiscriminate or unnecessary use of health services.

Maximum penalty—

a in the case of an individual—$5,000; or

b in the case of a body corporate—$10,000.

6.2.1 Misleading or deceptive advertising

Section 133 of the National Law states:

1 A person must not advertise a regulated health service, or a business that provides a regulated health service, in a way that –

a Is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to be misleading or deceptive

Eg:

– mislead, either directly, or by implication, use of emphasis, comparison, contrast or omission

– only provide partial information which could be misleading

– imply that the regulated health services can be a substitute for public health vaccination or immunisation

– advertise the health benefits of a regulated health service when there is no proof that such benefits can be attained, and/or

– compare different regulated health professions or practitioners, in the same profession or across professions, in a way that may mislead or deceive.

6.2.2 Gifts and discounts

Section 133 of the National Law states:

1 A person must not advertise a regulated health service, or a business that provides a regulated health service, in a way that –

b Offers a gift, discount or other inducement to attract a person to use the service or the business, unless the advertisement also states the terms and conditions of the offer

Advertising may contravene the National Law when it:

– contains price information that is inexact

– contains price information that does not specify any terms and conditions or variables to an advertised price, or that could be considered misleading or deceptive

– states an instalment amount without stating the total cost (which is a condition of the offer), and/or

– does not state the terms and conditions of offers of gifts, discounts or other inducements.

6.2.3 Testimonials

Section 133 of the National Law states:

1 A person must not advertise a regulated health service, or a business that provides a regulated health service, in a way that –

c Uses testimonials or purported testimonials about the service or business

6.2.4 Unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment

Section 133 of the National Law states:

1 A person must not advertise a regulated health service, or a business that provides a regulated health service, in a way that –

d Creates an unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment

6.2.5 Encouraging indiscriminate or unnecessary use of health services

Section 133 of the National Law states:

1 A person must not advertise a regulated health service, or a business that provides a regulated health service, in a way that –

e Directly or indirectly encourages the indiscriminate or unnecessary use of regulated health services

Advertising may contravene the National Law when it:

– makes use of time-limited offers which influence a consumer to make decisions under the pressure of time and money rather than about their health care needs.

_____________________________________

Addendum 3

Social media policy

When using social media, health practitioners should remember that the National Law, their National Board’s code of ethics and professional conduct (the Code of conduct) and the Guidelines for advertising regulated health services (the Advertising guidelines) apply.

Registered health practitioners should only post information that is not in breach of these obligations by:

– complying with professional obligations
– complying with confidentiality and privacy obligations (such as by not discussing patients or posting pictures of procedures, case studies, patients, or sensitive material which may enable patients to be identified without having obtained consent in appropriate situations)
– presenting information in an unbiased, evidence-based context, and
– not making unsubstantiated claims.

Additional information may be available from professional bodies and/or employers, which aims to support health practitioners’ use of social media. However, the legal, ethical, and professional obligations that registered health practitioners must adhere to are set out in the National Boards’ respective Code of conduct and the Advertising guidelines.

___________________________________________

About reasonable hank

I'm reasonable, mostly.
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3 Responses to Another Melbourne chiropractor admits to treating new born babies in maternity wards

  1. Sue says:

    Why do so many in this profession hold so much disdain for the regulatory process? The regulated professions take their registration seriously. These people are more like small business owners than registered professionals.

  2. Pingback: NSW chiropractor treated newborn baby in Wollongong Private Hospital | reasonable hank

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