Light for Riley attacked in official Vaxxed group run by AVN president

Posted on June 29, 2017 by reasonable hank

Picture a round-table populated by untreated, angry perianal abscesses, each with their own internet connection. That’s the Australian anti-vaccination movement: infected; weeping offensive, purulent exudate; ready to explode at the slightest of prodding; causing excruciating pain; adjacent to faeces and often indistinguishable from it; carving out distressing fistulas from where its festering message can newly seep.

At the precise moment when the discredited, antivax Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network is busily plugging its joint-venture with the makers of the antivax fantasy-film, Vaxxed, antivaxers in the official Bring Vaxxed to Australia/New Zealand Facebook group are busily lying about and vilifying Catherine Hughes and her deceased baby boy, Riley.

The official Vaxxed ANZ group is run by AVN president, Tasha David; AVN member and Vaxxed organiser, Jennifer Smith; and NZ child-abuser and official Vaxxed leader, Sarah Cox. Readers would recognise Cox from her recent threats to hang award-winning journalist Brian Deer:

It was only two weeks ago that Catherine Hughes was forced to issue a statement against lies being posted by antivaxers. These are the facts surrounding Riley’s death from whooping cough:

Catherine Hughes’ Statement:

Riley wasn’t born premature at all, he was born perfectly healthy at full term. We went out in public (park, beach, childcare drop-off for his sister etc) so to say he was “only surrounded by vaccinated individuals” is completely incorrect as the majority of the population are not up to date on their whooping cough boosters.

I’d never heard of “vitamin c protocol” until antivaxers bombarded us after he died. I then discussed this with Riley’s hospital and also with leading pertussis experts in Australia and the UK who said there was no evidence behind the so-called protocol.

Riley was breastfed and then fed breastmilk through a NG tube when in hospital. Not sure what the feeding stuff has to do with it… babies with infections don’t feed as much and that’s what prompted me to take him to hospital.

I’d never heard of the McCafferys til I received a brochure about whooping cough a day or two before Riley died, which had Dana’s story and their Facebook page printed on it. I reached out to them the same night Riley died because I was at a loss and I think I was in shock.

We set up the Light for Riley page pretty early on because our personal profiles were being contacted incessantly and photos being taken by the media. We also thought a page was more beneficial for the fundraising we wanted to do for whooping cough research.

The professional logo was done a few weeks later from a graphic designer who was touched by Riley’s story and offered to do it. [The initial logo was quickly made by] one of my friends in my mums’ group I think. She got each of them to change their profile pic to that for a few days/weeks and then we used it on the Fb page until the graphic designer contacted us and made the current one.

Riley’s grandparents are not nor ever were original Stop the AVN members, that is the strangest claim of all. I did like the page years before all this happened because I have always been opposed to unscientific views and supportive of vaccines.

On June 26 2017, this article was posted to the Vaxxed ANZ group, kicking off another round of antivax attacks on Catherine Hughes and Light for Riley:

Chrystal Shirtcliffe

9 News Perth:

Baby Riley was 32-days old when he sadly died from the vaccine-preventable disease whooping cough. What originally started as a common cold, tragically ended with little Riley passing away in his mother’s arms.

What follows are the lies about Riley’s death, and the vilification of Catherine Hughes, by anti-vaccination activists. All names are included, and Facebook profile usernames linked, to prove provenance.

Karen Harris so was the mother vaccinated? Where did he pick up the whooping cough infection from?

Carla Graham He caught it from an older sibling who picked it up at daycare. Lot’s of vaccinated silent carriers there.

Peta Dowle is an administrator of the Vaxxed ANZ group:

Peta Dowle How many babies have been maimed, have suffered, or have died (recorded officially or not) because advocates, including his parents have used Riley’s death to promote pharmaceutical products. How many babies have died because of Riley?

Kathy Austin Infectious diseases account for around `% of infant deaths….

Diane Swan Riddock Soper hey kill there natural immunity as soon as they are born. With Hep B vaccine which is for drug addicts and prostitutes, Maybe if they are going to be hanging around with that type but there goes what immunity their mother built for them over the 9 months. You should not go near anyone that is immunesuppressed if you have had a vaccine.

Carla Graham It is a bit hard to tell because the records are fudged but that vaccine directly kills around a hundred babies a year in Australia.

Peta Dowle There is no light in using a baby’s death for political purpose.

Anne-marie Stewart Gees they are really pushing this one at present huh.

Michael Caraher and if the media was being honest they would have reported that the baby died from heart failure as complications to …………….guess we will never know …..most likely the high dose multi intravenous anti biotics they use as routine treatment

Jan M Cooper Why is this story being dragged up again???? It’s very very sad that this little darling passed away, but he died of Pneumonia which was a SECONDARY complication of Whooping Cough! ie Whooping Cough was not the primary cause of death, as is being constantly stated in the media!

Carla Graham They keep using it because there are very few babies who die of WC and they have to get maximum milage out of this one. Also his mother agreed to that propoganda site, Light for Riley. Apparently the government asked her to do it, that’s what I heard, anyway.

Anna Harpley It is disgusting that a death is being used for propaganda. Baby Riley may also have died a few months later from neurotoxin overload. Very sad.

Sharon Follows Why are they bringing this old news back?

Kylie Metje I think his mum keeps rehashing it…. I guess it’s her coping mechanism…

Kylie Metje I can’t imagine her grief but as someone who must now be educated with whooping cough quite well it’s hard to believe she can’t see the bigger picture a bit, but I guess she will believe what she wants to believe… anyone who can’t say there is two sides to this issue is not even worth having a conversation with!

John Yiannis Death by medical intervention

Kay Vickery Could have been preventable if the baby was kept out of shopping centres…

Connie Wilson If this mother was recently vaccinated for whooping cough she spread it to her own baby and killed it. Pitty she didnt request vitamin c drip baby may have survived.

Matthew Dexter Its so sad that the mother has become the perfect poster mother for vaccines, she is being used and does not even realise she is so wrong with all that she is doing!

Helena Kresina Offs

Sara Manno-Lampasona Again ,,grrrrr,,,,

Sara Manno-Lampasona Sadly, the cold, hard truth, vaccinate while pregnant or vax yourself or your children, this WILL happen! Stop blaming everyoneeeeeeeee else!,,

Connie Wilson Parents are killing their own children by spreading the diseases from the vaccines they are choosing to blindly have.

Prue Neiberding I always think the photo of mother and child in the park with his tiny bare legs exposed telling. Don’t cart your teensy baby around to every dogfight and wrap the poor little pets up

Helena Kresina Ya, it tells me she is stupid. The articles confirm it!

Kate Researchit Baby had already received at least birth vaccines, THEREFORE baby’s t cells were suppressed and that made baby susceptible to everything. Dtap cannot provide immunity, it does Not contain the pertussis bacteria! Immunity is IMPOSSIBLE. It contains the toxiod. Which is what makes you sick. Think on that for a while.

Susan Kassandra I am disgusted that they use the pain and grief of
These parents to promote fear. If you wish to point the finger. I would love to know how many refugees are completely vaccinated. I would also love to know if this child was around anyone that had been vaccinated and was shedding the disease. Unfortunately children die and it’s always horrid however to use it for fear mongering is just wrong.

Kerrie Ribergaard I agree

Onnika Van Rooyen It’s almost a pattern. Before they bring out a “new” vaccine they start scaring people and suddenly a few weeks later there is a new booster or vaccine and then every misinformed scared parent runs to the nearest clinic. U will all see a couple of weeks from now there will be a new preventable booster for whooping cough designed by Tom, dick and harry

Alison Lagertha Phoenix This was years ago. Whooping cough deaths in infants are so rare that they have to use this story again and again.

Alison Hedlund Could have been caused by the vaccine.

Renee-Ryan Ramone You wana know how you prevent this disease…..look after your child’s immune system, make sure they have a fighting chance when/if they contract it.
Sick of seeing these kind of comments here. Push your vaccines elsewhere, considering that it’s not just the bloody pertussis vaccine that you get when wanting a whooping cough vaccination. It is in no freaking way effective!!!!!!! But does cause a lot of cases of whooping cough to be spread to these poor babies of ill informed parents!!!

Luke Bennett Considering the mother would have had the TDaP while pregnant we know where the baby was introduced to the virus. And considering the baby would have had the vit k and hep b at birth we can safely assume there was more underlying causes that contributed to this childs death. If no vaccines were given this child would have had a much better chance of survival

Mickaela Bakker “Catherine did everything right. She loved and cared for Riley each and every day. She trusted her insticts. The family diligently complied with the Australian vaccination schedule.”
Lol they label the article as if the baby wasn’t vaccinated to scare people, it was and it died

Sue Rope Ne Hennessy Was the baby vaccinated?

Mickaela Bakker Yes

Sue Rope Ne Hennessy Cheers

Mickaela Bakker “The family diligently complied with the Australian vaccination schedule”

Tenielle Styles I read on a different post that Riley was only 32 days old and couldn’t be vaccinated

Sue Rope Ne Hennessy Tenielle Styles thats what I thought.. where does it say the wee baby was vaccinated. Web need to get this right..

Debra May Sue Rope Ne Hennessy he wasn’t yet vaccinated with dtap, but had obviously had his hep b at birth

Sue Rope Ne Hennessy Debra May Yes just trying to work out the whooping cough .. did his mum have the vax when pregnant.. I am trying to share all truthful correct info (We have to be right), and sure I get it wrong, but if we are going to tell our stories and fight to have free choice to vaccinate of not vaccinate we need to try to get it right.. as they the pro vaxxers and trolls.. etc sure chuck enough crap at us..

Pearl Giles Written by mediahoes …paid by pharma

Sumukhi Dasi Not again. Millions of babies and infants have died from vaccine induced injuries since this one little boy in a million. I don’t feel one bit more sorry for her karma than any of the millions who have lost their babies to this new age scientism religion. One child amongst millions of children is a fair sacrifice for the herd according to them, he’s the only one they have, they should stop vaccinating all babies and infants on this principle alone, that they use all the time against every vax injured or vaxxed dead child.

Ruth Zarganis Its so simple. Those people have had the whooping cough vaccine shed the virus even though they don’t feel the symptoms they are highly contagious. Not knowing this is KILLING babies. RIP little one

Acacia Smith The mother of this child is pushing for the whole cell vaccine to come back and replace the acellular version. She knows the acellular is useless but is now on the warpath. She doesn’t care if, again, babies and children are maimed and killed by the whole cell vaccine. She has a misguided sense of justice. Very sad.

Stephanie Mormanis One story regurgitated over and over. Surely they realise it’s no longer news and pure fear mongering.

Pene Peabutton If only this mother realized the vaccines he received at birth affected his immune system and poor lil Riley wasnt strong enough becos of the vaccinations

Sumukhi Dasi Every day we hear stories like this one, that is totally ignored by the mainstream media. Why doesn’t selfish Rileys mum cry over this death and demand we stop giving babies the poisonous MMR vax?

Judy D’Attoma She’s not selfish.. she’s grieving and looking for someone to blame. Just because she’s uniformed doesn’t make her heartless

Sumukhi Dasi Of course she is selfish as she considers her grieving to be superior to those mothers grieving over their babies lost over pernicious vaccines.

Kym Haythorpe And poisoning it with toxic sludge would have helped?.

Erin Lee Cooper Apparently this was about 5 years ago, and the grandparents had just received the vaccine.

“Janey Jane” is former AVN committee member, Jane Beeby, of Maclean NSW, who has her own malevolent history of vilifying bereaved families:

Janey Jane Take your vaccinated at birth baby with cough to hospital and they finish the job of killing another baby with their drugs.

Katharine Clynes This baby was vaccinated, the vaccine took her baby’s life, would you not then be anti vax.

Gavin McRae Just goes to show they dont work, what a joke, they made out in the add, that the baby was un-immunised too, lairs, corruption at its best.

Katharine Clynes Unfortunately the brainwashing goes deep.

Gavin McRae Just goes to show Vaccines dont work, this baby was vaccinated, and it still dint work & the baby is dead, so yeah, how good was the vaccines? What a joke, they made out in the add that the baby was un-immunised too, Liars. Corruption at its best

Cynthia Maurer featured in 2015 for posting an antivax comment on the Light for Riley page the day after it started:

Cynthia Maurer Well, if his mother had stopped believing in vaccines, her own included, this child would have had a much better chance at survival.

William Hannah spin and lies to try to deceive folks…

Benny Freeman Propaganda machine

Richard Browne Vaccine industry Fiction News,

Bernadette Church 2 YEAR OLD NEWS!! Doesn’t get easier for the family but stop the BS Channel 9!!

Anne-Marie Koelewyn So sad… And as the article states the mother was totally pro vaccine.. Immunised during pregnancy, baby fully immunised…… Vaccines don’t work………………

Heather Bruce Informed choice is needed.
What about the kids who die because they were vaccinated?
Listen to these doctors . .

Will Irwin They had to dig back to 2005 to find a fatality, and the child was vaccinated! The story is farcical. My favorite part was showing a random guy coughing on a park bench. [edit: the article originally contained the typo “2005” instead of 2015, the year of Riley’s death]

Carla Graham It’s painful to see the completely uninformed comments even after all the information is posted. These guys obviously know everything there is to know so don’t need to read the data. Sigh…..

Joseph Sikora false , whooping cough does not kill , crippliong from chemical poisoning kills

Marguerite McCartney Anne is right. The vaccine given during pregnancy is probably why the baby got it and died. Vaccines are deadly.

Mel Huikeshoven The mother didn’t get the vaccine during pregnancy. She’s the one who campaigned for the maternal vaccination after her baby died.

Anne-Marie Koelewyn So you know her personally then Mel? No record of this………….. And to state a sad fact… Children do die from diseases…. Many more die and are injured through vaccines

Bec Holden First check to see if the parents Have Bird’s because Psittacosis has the same symptoms as whooping cough !!!

Yarri Nungunkari So the baby already had a few vaccines since birth that weakened it’s immunity immediately.

The anti-vaccination movement has shown that it will keep vilifying bereaved families, just like Sandy Hook hoaxers still target the families of murdered schoolchildren and teachers.

We will continue to expose them, so you can warn your families and friends of the reality of the anti-vaccination movement.

For an accurate, extensively referenced article which busts several anti-vaccination myths surrounding whooping cough infection and immunisation, see:  Whooping Cough: Why are we having outbreaks?  

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Posted in abuse, anti-vaccination, anti-vaccination dishonesty, Anti-vaccine thugs, australian vaccination network, AVN, meryl dorey, mobbing, public health, Public mobbing, skeptic, stop the australian vaccination network, Tasha David, vaccination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Catherine Hughes again forced to respond to antivax lies about her deceased baby boy

Posted on June 15, 2017 by reasonable hank

At the heart of anti-vaccination activism and the concomitant abhorrent behaviour which has become normalised – for the anti-vaccination movement, at least, due to incitement from standard-setters such as Meryl Dorey, of the Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network, and Judy Wilyman, of the perennial whining and relevance deprivation, and their cast of monsters – sits their fundamental raison d’être: lying about vaccines and disseminating misinformation about vaccines, so as to dissuade vulnerable parents from immunising their babies.

What monsters are these, who are committed so barbarically to the death and disfigurement of other people’s children? We’ll get to that.

But, first, it it is best to clear up some misinformation about the whooping cough immunisation. One of the best, plain-language mythbusting articles around is this one from Kidspot, written by Dr Rachel Heap and Jenni Bate; it is extensively referenced, using reputable sources and citations: Whooping Cough: Why are we having outbreaks? 

Here are a few points from the article pertinent to today’s subject, especially as these points are routinely and habitually mangled by anti-vaccination liars who don’t know what they are talking about:

A study published in 2012 looked at all cases of whooping cough in England and Wales between 1998-2009. It found that there were 39 deaths, 29 of which were in babies less than three months old. They found that most severe disease was in babies between two and three months old, and for them there was a case fatality rate of 4.3 percent (the case fatality rate looks at the proportion of babies with the disease who die from it).

In other words, out of every 100 babies between two and three months old who get the disease, up to 4.3 might die from it. In this study, no vaccinated babies died.

…

For older children, vaccine effectiveness (the percentage reduction of disease when compared with unvaccinated people) is estimated to be 68 percent after receiving one dose, but this increases to 92 percent after the second dose, and is more than 99 percent following additional doses.

As an alternative way of looking at this, data from the USA in 2012 showed that unvaccinated children were up to 20 times more likely to catch whooping cough than those who were vaccinated.

Vaccines are not force fields, and no vaccine can offer 100 percent guaranteed protection, but we do also know that if you do get whooping cough after being vaccinated against it, you’re more likely to get a mild case; you cough less, you cough for a shorter length of time and you suffer less complications.

…

The current vaccine is able to reduce the incidence of disease in communities, and can indeed protect the unvaccinated by contributing to herd immunity. In summary:

  • If you’re vaccinated you’re less likely to get the infection in the first place (vaccine effectiveness is not 100 percent, but it isn’t 0 percent either)
  • If you’re vaccinated and infected, you’re less likely to have any symptoms (because your antibodies will neutralise the toxin that causes the coughing). And if you’re not coughing and spluttering, you’re a lot less likely to pass bacteria on to anyone else.
  • If you’re unvaccinated, you’re both more likely to be infected, and if infected, more likely to cough and cough and cough (it’s called the 100 day cough for a reason).

…

As previously described, when someone contracts whooping cough, it isn’t the actual bacteria that makes them sick, but the toxin produced by the bacteria that causes symptoms. The current vaccine leads to the production of antibodies against the toxin, and this protects you from getting sick.

In addition to the toxin neutralising antibodies, the vaccine also causes the production of antibodies against the bacteria itself (one part of which is called pertactin). These antibodies help the body to recognise the pertussis bacteria when it invades, to help fight it off quickly. Some studies have shown that around 80 percent of cases of whooping cough in Australia were caused by pertussis bacteria which didn’t contain pertactin, suggesting that the bacteria is evolving to evade antibodies against this bit. This means that although the vaccine is able to prevent the person getting unwell (as the toxin is neutralised), the bacteria may still be present (if the bacteria don’t have pertactin, it’s harder for the body to ‘recognise’ it as pertussis).

However, as clearly stated in the article, there is “no evidence to suggest that the pertactin free strains of the bacteria are any more dangerous, or whether this evolution has had any impact on overall vaccine effectiveness in either the long or short term”.

This is a really important conclusion. In science we observe changes continuously, but until there’s evidence that it’s in any way significant, there’s no reason to suggest that it’s a bad thing. The acellular vaccine is able to prevent you getting sick, and it is able to reduce transmission of disease, and thus it is able to contribute to herd immunity.

…

The evidence from the experts around the world is undeniable; high vaccination rates for whooping cough reduces both the chances of getting the disease in the first place, and means a milder case if you are unlucky enough to get sick anyway.

The vaccine we have isn’t perfect, but it’s infinitely better than nothing. Newer vaccines are in development and there are some interesting possibilities. One is a new acellular vaccine with multiple components, which hopefully will not only be safe, but will be more effective than the current vaccine with longer lasting protection.

But, until a new vaccine is developed, please make sure you;

Vaccinating will not only protect you, but it will also help to protect your family, your community and the most vulnerable among us.

Catherine and Greg Hughes have been attacked by the anti-vaccination movement from the day their baby boy, Riley, died from whooping cough, in 2015.

Toni and David McCaffery have been attacked by the anti-vaccination movement from the day their baby girl, Dana, died in 2009.

They are not alone. This is why, only recently, we likened the behaviour of the anti-vaccination movement to that of the Sandy Hook hoaxers: trolls who lie about, vilify and threaten the families of those who were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary.

A Facebook group – called  Vaccine Talk: A Non-Aggressive Forum for Both Pro and Anti-Vaxers – has been set up by a group of anti-vaccination activists as group administrators,  in conjunction with some other naive moderators who are intent on platforming anti-vaccine lies. The group is a safe-space for liars, where saner members try to play catch-up with the lies:

Amanda Malsem is a resident of Mudgee, NSW, and a close friend of the leader of Anti-Vaccination Australia, Belgin Sila Arslan. Readers will remember Arslan as the anti-vaccination liar who set her dogs on a Byron Bay physiotherapist, his wife and daughter, and his workplace, their flawed investigations pointing them to believing that he is Reasonable Hank:

Malsem (L); Arslan (R). Photo credit: Facebook.

Malsem now uses another Facebook profile for her anti-vaccination activities, because she is a coward: Manda Kathleen.

Malsem has form in attacking the Hughes family. This is from January 15 2016:

Yesterday, a group member posted some legitimate questions about whooping cough immunisation, and the dangers of whooping cough (I’ll post the rest of pertinent commentary in the appendix at the end of this post, as well as the full sub-thread of Malsem’s attacks):

Another group member answered the question about babies dying from whooping cough.  The two linked stories are available here and here:

This set off Malsem on another attack, firstly on the Hughes family. This astonishingly inaccurate conspiracy theory will be addressed below by Catherine Hughes who has kindly offered a statement to point out the absurdity of Malsem’s claims:

Baby riley was premature. In hospital fir most if his short life surrounded by vaccinated individuals who could have most likely infected him from being asymptomatic carriers.

Riley was NOT treated properly with vitamin c protocol- which his parents likeky knew about, more to that point in a bit. His mother talks about hiw long he had gone without a feed before he passed and he died from Pneumonia.

Now Riley’s family was involved with Baby Danas family. They were part of baby danas pertussis page 7 years before baby riley even came along. 7 years on a group that also hosted reasobable hank aka peter teirney the worst vocal troll in australia. Baby rileys grandmother was an original SAVN member. Rileys memorial page was set up hours after his death complete with the professional logo ready to go. Theres more dodgy stuff that the LFR page does but regardless of that….. How much does one count as coincidence before one realises they are listening to propaganda?

Malsem then turned her sights on the McCafferys. This is the quote from the second article to which Malsem refers:

On March 17 2015, my husband Dave rang me at work.

“Toni, another baby has died,” he said softly. “His name is Riley and his mum has just messaged me. It only happened today. He’s 32 days old, just like Dana.”

Let it be crystal clear: the McCafferys did not know the Hughes family. The accusation from Malsem is made up.  It is a lie:

The second article- that IS baby Danas family.

Now why would Danas dad say that quote to his wife when they already knew the Hughes’? Would he not say “oh honey our friend catherine’s new baby has whooping cough!”

Now explain why our MSM is permitted to publish stories like these that are incorrect?

Malsem then continues her attacks on the Hughes. Let it be crystal clear, again: the Hughes were not members of Dana McCaffery’s memorial group (pages do not show members; groups show members). Neither Catherine nor Greg Hughes are members of Dana’s group. I checked. Malsem’s evidence was conveniently lost, appropriately, in a toilet:

Riley died of pneumonia FACT
Rileys mother spoke herself of his feeding in his last hours FACT
The page was up and running almost immediately after his death and the logo was in place then FACT
The vaccinated catch and spread pertusus FACT.
I dont doubt these kids were ill. I doubt WHO infected them and why they are permitted to spread false info when we KNOW the vaccinated spread pertussis.

And its not a conspiracy theory- i went to the dana mccaffery memorial group MYSELF and took screen shots of the members list showing the hughes family added 7 years ago. The group is no longer searchable so i cant do that again & the person i sent the SS to had her kid drop the iphone in the toilet sorry.

Malsem continued her conspiratorial attack:

SAVN was formed around baby dana & the pertussis campaign. Almost a DECADE of vilifying antivaxxers for killing baby dana & others when the VACCINE DOESNT PREVENT INFECTION OR TRANSMISSION TO BEGIN WITH. These people were USED to push a FALSE AGENDA which the MSM is still promoting.

When will you PV people start speaking up in public and demanding doctors and the media tell the truth about TOXOID vaxxes? Why are you happy to support ONE family while you hang HUNDREDS out to dry?

Malsem rounds off her hideous commentary by repeating her “poster children” slurs:

Why do you think its ethical to hold babies up as poster children for a vaccine that doesnt even work in a way that would have prevented those 2 deaths.

Its a damn tragedy any person dies from pertussis or a secondary infection. Both those babe’s should have been on IV C Therapy as soon as they got sick.

I have been clear about why i think the official story does not add up. I am not here to be goaded into saying something dodgy so you can dob on me.

You are the one who wont answer the question. Why are YOU happy to use deceased kids as poster children for a vaccine that doesnt prevent infection to begin with? Why arent YOU campaigning for truth and integrity in the media?

Malsem also cites her “Higher reasoning skills and high EQ”:

One can have multiple thoughts and feelings about a topic… Its called having Higher reasoning skills and high EQ

And what did the group administrators do about this horrid, inaccurate, defamatory attack on bereaved parents? Nothing. They did nothing:

Those who host and condone grubs are themselves grubs.

This is not a game.

Catherine Hughes’ Statement:

Riley wasn’t born premature at all, he was born perfectly healthy at full term. We went out in public (park, beach, childcare drop-off for his sister etc) so to say he was “only surrounded by vaccinated individuals” is completely incorrect as the majority of the population are not up to date on their whooping cough boosters.

I’d never heard of “vitamin c protocol” until antivaxers bombarded us after he died. I then discussed this with Riley’s hospital and also with leading pertussis experts in Australia and the UK who said there was no evidence behind the so-called protocol.

Riley was breastfed and then fed breastmilk through a NG tube when in hospital. Not sure what the feeding stuff has to do with it… babies with infections don’t feed as much and that’s what prompted me to take him to hospital.

I’d never heard of the McCafferys til I received a brochure about whooping cough a day or two before Riley died, which had Dana’s story and their Facebook page printed on it. I reached out to them the same night Riley died because I was at a loss and I think I was in shock.

We set up the Light for Riley page pretty early on because our personal profiles were being contacted incessantly and photos being taken by the media. We also thought a page was more beneficial for the fundraising we wanted to do for whooping cough research.

The professional logo was done a few weeks later from a graphic designer who was touched by Riley’s story and offered to do it. [The initial logo was quickly made by] one of my friends in my mums’ group I think. She got each of them to change their profile pic to that for a few days/weeks and then we used it on the Fb page until the graphic designer contacted us and made the current one.

Riley’s grandparents are not nor ever were original Stop the AVN members, that is the strangest claim of all. I did like the page years before all this happened because I have always been opposed to unscientific views and supportive of vaccines.

Appendix

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Posted in abuse, anti-vaccination, anti-vaccination dishonesty, Anti-vaccine thugs, australian vaccination network, AVN, Conspiracy theory, Immunisation, Light for Riley, meryl dorey, Pertussis, public health, skeptic, stop the australian vaccination network, Tasha David, vaccination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

NZ Vaxxed leader threatens to hang award-winning journalist Brian Deer

Posted on June 12, 2017 by reasonable hank

Sarah Cox is a New Zealand anti-vaccination activist and child abuser who is renowned for inflicting bleach enemas on her disabled son, then, posting photos of his gastrointestinal mucosa and faeces to Facebook.

Cox is also one of the official leaders for the anti-vaccination fantasy-film, Vaxxed, produced by and starring discredited ex-doctor, liar and fraud, Andrew Wakefield. Cox is an online colleague of Tasha David and her Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network. They both run the official Bring Vaxxed to Australia/New Zealand Facebook group:

Brian Deer is an award-winning journalist whose investigative work led to the uncovering of Wakefield’s fraud. Deer is a hero. His work has undoubtedly saved the lives of children.

Tonight, Cox made the threats that Brian Deer will be hung for his work in uncovering Wakefield’s fraud. Cox posted a Vaxxed image to her public profile:

When questioned about Brian Deer’s work, Cox made the threat that Deer “will be hung,” adding that Deer “makes Hitler look like a bloody saint”:

Brian deer will be hung when we have finished with this atrocity

This is the true face of the anti-vaccination movement. Those of us who have been covering these people for any period are used to seeing this sort of stuff. We expect it.

See these posts for more of this behaviour:

Beware the violent antis – Lismore Mayor physically assaulted – updated 

Australian antivaxer calls for execution of Channel 9’s Deborah Knight 

Antivaxers violently react to proposed government immunisation-childcare policy and vilify bereaved parents 

Shawn Dhu posts video threats of assault against Reasonable Hank 

More violent rhetoric and threats from the anti-vaccination movement 

Antivaxers call for execution of public health hero 

US anti-vaccination leaders incite more threats against Dr Paul Offit 

Tristan Wells of the AVN calls for the execution of vaccine workers 

Death threats from Frank Vazquez of South Australia 

AVN president Tasha David vilifies public health hero with offensive slurs 

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Posted in abuse, anti-vaccination, anti-vaccination dishonesty, Anti-vaccine thugs, australian vaccination network, AVN, meryl dorey, public health, Public mobbing, skeptic, stop the australian vaccination network, Tasha David, violence | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Anti-vaccine chiropractors 72

Posted on June 12, 2017 by reasonable hank

Given the attention that has been garnered by Australian chiropractic, in recent years, it is surprising that some chiropractors still flout the professional codes and guidelines of the Chiropractic Board of Australia, as well as the recurrent warnings the CBA sends out.

On August 8 2013, the Chiropractic Board of Australia sent a strong warning to Australian chiropractors that it would no longer tolerate anti-vaccination and other misinformation in the profession.

On March 7 2016, the Chiropractic Board of Australia sent a strong warning to Australian chiropractors that it would no longer tolerate anti-vaccination and other misinformation in the profession.

Ivo Ahlquist is a registered chiropractor who runs a business called Moruya Chiro and Wellness, in New South Wales. Ahlquist is a member of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia:

Photo credit: Moruya Chiro and Wellness 

On March 22 2017, Ahlquist publicly took over the Moruya business:

On June 12 2017, Ahlquist posted this anti-vaccination article on his business Facebook page:

On March 31 2017, Ahlquist posted this promotion of demonstrable anti-vaccination fraud and liar, the thoroughly discredited and disreputable Andrew Wakefield:

On April 25 2017, Ahlquist posted this banned time-limited offer on his business Facebook page:

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 Ivo Ahlquist and Moruya Chiro and Wellness.

Thanks for reading.

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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

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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.

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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.

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Anti-Vaccination Australia trolls still attacking Light for Riley

Posted on May 13, 2017 by reasonable hank

One of the most vile online acts is perpetrated by conspiracy theorists known as Sandy Hook Denialists, or Sandy Hook Hoaxers. These conspiracy-theorist liars attack the families of children who were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School. In the eight years I have been following conspiracy theorists, it’s these Sandy Hook liars who elicit immediate and universal revulsion. And rightly so: they are so beyond our understanding of repugnant that it leaves one speechless. Families have even received death threats from these excreta.

In the eight years I have been following conspiracy theorists, anti-vaccination liars have targeted families of babies and children who have have died from disease like measles, whooping cough, and chicken pox.

These anti-vaccination liars have trolled memorial pages alleging horrific untruths: that these babies did not exist; that these babies and children were meant to die because they were weak; that the babies died because the parents had them immunised at birth; that the babies died because they were not breast-fed; that the parents are paid pharma shills; that the parents are crisis actors; that the stories of deaths were fabricated in order to fit into some government eugenics program; it goes on and on.

These attacks are orchestrated from the top of the anti-vaccination movement, the leadership of which incites its acolytes with the impetus to inflict harm on already grieving families.

These anti-vaccination liars are no different, in substance, to Sandy Hook liars. They should be accorded the same treatment. I’m still waiting for the watershed precedent where these liars get prison time for their online targeted hate. It will come. The law is lagging in its application, even though the laws are already there to apply.

Dianne Hastie – of Perth, Western Australia – is a member of the rabid antivax group, Anti-Vaccination Australia; AVA is administered by its founder, Belgin Sila Arslan/Colak.

Attacks on bereaved families are commonplace in anti-vaccination groups and, whenever there is a spike of trolling on memorial pages, one can place a safe bet that there has been an orchestration of trolling and hatred within an antivax group. It usually doesn’t take long to find the source.

On May 3 2017, Hastie posted this in Anti-Vaccination Australia; admin Arslan has allowed this post to remain published:

I’m I the only person sick of hearing about Riley yes it’s sad but it’s the same child over and over again and mum is clueless. What about all of the vaccine injured kids do they all have pages please share your pages below for me to follow and spread your stories. I can guarantee there is way more vax damaged then there is the other way. What about Maisons mum does she have a page?

The AVA members continued their ill-informed attacks. Hastie admitted to directly trolling Catherine Hughes, via Facebook private message, just like the antivax cult has been doing for two years:

I messeged her this but had no response she has seen it. I think if it wasn’t true she would have responded accordingly putting me in my place for questioning her.

This is Hastie’s screenshot of her disingenuous private message; to bereaved parents, this JAQing off – Just Asking Questions – is particularly hurtful:

So sorry for your loss babe…

This is the true face of the anti-vaccination movement. This is what they do. This is what they continue to do. Respect them accordingly.

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Posted in abuse, anti-vaccination, anti-vaccination dishonesty, Anti-vaccine thugs, australian vaccination network, AVN, Conspiracy theory, Judy Wilyman, Light for Riley, meryl dorey, mobbing, public health, Public mobbing, skeptic, stop the australian vaccination network, Tasha David | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Anti-vaccine nurses and midwives 42

Posted on April 30, 2017 by reasonable hank

On October 11 2016, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia responded to a number of complaints regarding anti-vaccination material and advice being disseminated by registered nurses, enrolled nurses, and registered midwives, by publishing a new position statement on anti-vaccination misinformation:

NMBA position on nurses, midwives and vaccination

The NMBA has become aware that there are a small number of registered nurses, enrolled nurses and midwives who are promoting anti-vaccination statements to patients and the public via social media which contradict the best available scientific evidence. The NMBA is taking this opportunity to make its expectations about providing advice on vaccinations clear to registered nurses, enrolled nurses and midwives.

The NMBA recognises the Australian National Immunisation Handbook 10th edition as providing evidence-based advice to health professionals about the safe and effective use of vaccines and the public health benefits associated with vaccination. The NMBA supports the use of the handbook by registered nurses, enrolled nurses and midwives who are giving vaccines. The handbook is available from the Immunise Australia Program website.

The NMBA expects all registered nurses, enrolled nurses and midwives to use the best available evidence in making practice decisions. This includes providing information to the public about public health issues.

All registered nurses, enrolled nurses and midwives are required to practise in accordance with professional standards set by the NMBA, including the codes of conduct, codes of ethics and the standards for practice, in particular the social media policy and the guidelines for advertising regulated health services.

What should I do if I notice a nurse or midwife is promoting anti-vaccination material?

If you have concerns about a nurse or midwife you can make a complaint to AHPRA. The NMBA will consider whether the nurse or midwife has breached their professional obligations and will treat these matters seriously. Any published anti-vaccination material and/or advice which is false, misleading or deceptive which is being distributed by a registered nurse, enrolled nurse or midwife (including via social media) may also constitute a summary offence under the National Law and could result in prosecution by AHPRA.

Halimah Khan is a registered nurse who practises as a homeopath in Queensland:

Khan featured a listing on the Natural Therapy Pages website, which has been removed since her online advertising was raised on the Stop the Australian (Anti) Vaccination Network Facebook page. A Google search for her name still brings up the broken link:

Khan’s advertisement on Natural Therapy Pages cited Khan’s nursing registration, and also made claims of having undertaken some “medical school” training. Even more troubling are some of the conditions Khan claims to treat. The following screenshots were taken some weeks ago, before the page’s removal:

Still accessible is Khan’s business website, Life Essence Natural Therapies and Counselling:

Among the treatment claims made on Khan’s Homoeopathy page are the following:

• Chronic/Heriditary Illnesses
• Acute Illnesses
• Emotional Issues
• Palliative Care
• All life Stages
• Prevention
• Alleviation
• Deeply supportive with other therapies
• All ages – great gentle therapy for newborns

…

• Scientific research has demonstrated that homeopathy is an effective form of treatment.

…

Chances are Homoeopathy will make a significant difference to your health! Speak with Halimah to find out more.

On April 6 2017, Khan posted a link – on the Stop the AVN Facebook page – to the disgraced Geier father-and-son team, the elder of whom has been struck off the medical register for his heinous treatments; the younger Geier does not have a medical licence to lose:

On April 6 2017, Khan posted a link promoting the debunked CDC conspiracy theory promoted by ex-doctor Andrew Wakefield, who was struck off the medical register for his callous mistreatment of autistic children, and other children, and his fraudulent accumulation of hundreds of thousands of pounds, made whilst he published his now famously retracted case-series which led him to falsely claim that the MMR vaccine causes autism:

On April 6 2017, Khan again posted to the Stop the AVN page, imploring readers to “Update Vacc awareness”; this was based on her previous two posts to the Stop the AVN page:

The following addenda contain excerpts from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia’s competency standards, codes, guidelines, and social media policy from which readers may wish to choose when lodging any complaint regarding the anti-vaccination activism of Halimah Khan.

Thanks for reading.

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Addendum 1

National competency standards for the registered nurse (PDF)

Professional practice

Relates to the professional, legal and ethical responsibilities which require demonstration of a satisfactory knowledge base, accountability for practice, functioning in accordance with legislation affecting nursing and health care, and the protection of individual and group rights.

1 Practises in accordance with legislation affecting nursing practice and health care

1.1 Complies with relevant legislation and common law

1.2 Fulfils the duty of care

1.3 Recognises and responds appropriately to unsafe or unprofessional practice

2 Practises within a professional and ethical nursing framework

2.1 Practises in accordance with the nursing profession’s codes of ethics and conduct

2.2 Integrates organisational policies and guidelines with professional standards

2.3 Practises in a way that acknowledges the dignity, culture, values, beliefs and rights of individuals/groups

2.4 Advocates for individuals/groups and their rights for nursing and health care within organisational and management structures

2.5 Understands and practises within own scope of practice

2.6 Integrates nursing and health care knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide safe and effective nursing care

2.7 Recognises the differences in accountability and responsibility between registered nurses, enrolled nurses and unlicensed care workers

Critical thinking and analysis

Relates to self-appraisal, professional development and the value of evidence and research for practice. Reflecting on practice, feelings and beliefs and the consequences of these for individuals/ groups is an important professional bench- mark.

3 Practises within an evidence-based framework

3.1 Identifies the relevance of research to improving individual/group health outcomes

3.2 Uses best available evidence, nursing expertise and respect for the values and beliefs of individuals/groups in the provision of nursing care

3.3 Demonstrates analytical skills in accessing and evaluating health information and research evidence

3.4 Supports and contributes to nursing and health care research

3.5 Participates in quality improvement activities

4 Participates in ongoing professional development of self and others

4.1 Uses best available evidence, standards and guidelines to evaluate nursing performance:

4.2 Participates in professional development to enhance nursing practice

4.3 Contributes to the professional development of others

4.4 Uses appropriate strategies to manage own responses to the professional work environment

Provision and coordination of care

Relates to the coordination, organisation and provision of nursing care that includes the assessment of individuals/ groups, planning, implementation and evaluation of care.

5 Conducts a comprehensive and systematic nursing assessment

5.1 Uses a relevant evidence-based assessment framework to collect data about the physical socio-cultural and mental health of the individual/group

5.2 Uses a range of assessment techniques to collect relevant and accurate data

5.3 Analyses and interprets assessment data accurately

6 Plans nursing care in consultation with individuals/groups, significant others and the interdisciplinary health care team

6.1 Determines agreed priorities for resolving health needs of individuals/groups:

6.2 Identifies expected and agreed individual/group health outcomes including a time frame for achievement

6.3 Documents a plan of care to achieve expected outcomes

6.4 Plans for continuity of care to achieve expected outcomes

7 Provides comprehensive, safe and effective evidence-based nursing care to achieve identified individual/group health outcomes

7.1 Effectively manages the nursing care of individuals/groups

7.2 Provides nursing care according to the documented care or treatment plan

7.3 Prioritises workload based on the individual/group’s needs, acuity and optimal time for intervention

7.4 Responds effectively to unexpected or rapidly changing situations

7.5 Delegates aspects of care to others according to their competence and scope of practice

7.6 Provides effective and timely direction and supervision to ensure that delegated care is provided safely and accurately

7.7 Educates individuals/groups to promote independence and control over their health

8 Evaluates progress towards expected individual/group health outcomes in consultation with individuals/groups, significant others and interdisciplinary health care team

8.1 Determines progress of individuals/groups toward planned outcomes

8.2 Revises the plan of care and determines further outcomes in accordance with evaluation data

Collaborative and therapeutic practice

Relates to establishing, sustaining and concluding professional relationships with individuals/groups. This also contains those competencies that relate to nurses understanding their contribution to the interdisciplinary health care team.

9 Establishes, maintains and appropriately concludes therapeutic relationships

9.1 Establishes therapeutic relationships that are goal directed and recognises professional boundaries

9.2 Communicates effectively with individuals/groups to facilitate provision of care

9.3 Uses appropriate strategies to promote an individual’s/group’s self-esteem, dignity, integrity and

9.4 Assists and supports individuals/groups to make informed health care decisions

9.5 Facilitates a physical, psychosocial, cultural and spiritual environment that promotes individual/group safety and security

10 Collaborates with the interdisciplinary health care team to provide comprehensive nursing care

10.1 Recognises that the membership and roles of health care teams and service providers will vary depending on an individual’s/group’s needs and health care setting

10.2 Communicates nursing assessments and decisions to the interdisciplinary health care team and other relevant service providers

10.3 Facilitates coordination of care to achieve agreed health outcomes

10.4 Collaborates with the health care team to inform policy and guideline development

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Addendum 2

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Codes and Guidelines.

Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses in Australia

1 Nurses practise in a safe and competent manner.

2 Nurses practise in accordance with the standards of the profession and broader health system.

Conduct Statement 2

Nurses practise in accordance with the standards of the profession and broader health system

Explanation

1 Nurses are responsible for ensuring the standard of their practice conforms to professional standards developed and agreed by the profession, with the object of enhancing the safety of people in their care as well as their partners, family members and other members of the person’s nominated network. This responsibility also applies to the nurses’ colleagues.

2 Nurses practise in accordance with wider standards relating to safety and quality in health care and accountability for a safe health system, such as those relating to health documentation and information management, incident reporting and participation in adverse event analysis and formal open disclosure procedures.

3 Nurses practise and conduct themselves in accordance with laws relevant to the profession and practice of nursing.

Conduct Statement 3

Nurses practise and conduct themselves in accordance with laws relevant to the profession and practice of nursing

Explanation

1 Nurses are familiar with relevant laws and ensure they do not engage in clinical or other practices prohibited by such laws or delegate to others activities prohibited by those laws.

2 Nurses witnessing the unlawful conduct of colleagues and other co-workers, whether in clinical, management, education or research areas of practice, have both a responsibility and an obligation to report such conduct to an appropriate authority and take other appropriate action as necessary to safeguard people and the public interest.

4 Nurses respect the dignity, culture, ethnicity, values and beliefs of people receiving care and treatment, and of their colleagues.

5 Nurses treat personal information obtained in a professional capacity as private and confidential.

6 Nurses provide impartial, honest and accurate information in relation to nursing care and health care products.

Conduct Statement 6

Nurses provide impartial, honest and accurate information in relation to nursing care and health care products

Explanation

1 When nurses provide advice about any care or product, they fully explain the advantages and disadvantages of alternative care or products so individuals can make informed choices. Nurses refrain from engaging in exploitation, misinformation or misrepresentation with regard to health care products and nursing care.

2 Nurses accurately represent the nature of their services or the care they intend to provide.

3 Where a specific care or a specific product is advised, nurses ensure their advice is based on adequate knowledge and not on commercial or other forms of gain. Deceptive endorsement of products or services or receipt of remuneration for products or services primarily for personal gain, other than remuneration in the course of a proper commercial relationship, is improper.

7 Nurses support the health, wellbeing and informed decision-making of people requiring or receiving care.

8 Nurses promote and preserve the trust and privilege inherent in the relationship between nurses and people receiving care.

Conduct Statement 8

Nurses promote and preserve the trust and privilege inherent in the relationship between nurses and people receiving care

Explanation

1 An inherent power imbalance exists within the relationship between people receiving care and nurses that may make the persons in their care vulnerable and open to exploitation. Nurses actively preserve the dignity of people through practised kindness and respect for the vulnerability and powerlessness of people in their care. Significant vulnerability and powerlessness can arise from the experience of illness and the need to engage with the health care system. The power relativities between a person and a nurse can be significant, particularly where the person has limited knowledge; experiences pain and illness; needs assistance with personal care; belongs to a marginalised group; or experiences an unfamiliar loss of self-determination. This vulnerability creates a power differential in the relationship between nurses and persons in their care that must be recognised and managed.

4 Nurses fulfil roles outside the professional role, including those as family members, friends and community members. Nurses are aware that dual relationships may compromise care outcomes and always conduct professional relationships with the primary intent of benefit for the person receiving care. Nurses take care when giving professional advice to people with whom they have a dual relationship (e.g. a family member or friend) and advise them to seek independent advice due to the existence of actual or potential conflicts of interest.

9 Nurses maintain and build on the community’s trust and confidence in the nursing profession.

Conduct Statement 9

Nurses maintain and build on the community’s trust and confidence in the nursing profession

Explanation

1 The conduct of nurses maintains and builds public trust and confidence in the profession at all times.

2 The unlawful and unethical actions of nurses in their personal lives risk adversely affecting both their own and the profession’s good reputation and standing in the eyes of the public. If the good standing of either individual nurses or the profession were to diminish, this might jeopardise the inherent trust between the nursing profession and the public necessary for effective therapeutic relationships and the effective delivery of nursing care.

3 Nurses consider the ethical interests of the nursing profession and the community when exercising their right to freedom of speech and participating in public, political and academic debate, including publication.

10 Nurses practise nursing reflectively and ethically.

Conduct Statement 10

Nurses practise nursing reflectively and ethically

Explanation

1 Nurses practise nursing reflectively and ethically, in accordance with the Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia, in order to learn from experience and contribute to personal and professional practice.

2 Nurses develop and maintain appropriate and current quality nursing advice, support and care for each person requiring and receiving care and their partners, families and other members of their nominated social network. This responsibility also applies to colleagues of nurses.

3 Nurses evaluate their conduct and competency according to the standards of the nursing profession.

4 Nurses contribute to the professional development of students and colleagues.

5 Nurses participating in research do so in accordance with recognised research guidelines and do not violate their duty of care to persons receiving nursing care.

6 Nurses advise employers and any persons in their care of any reduction in their capacity to practise due to health, social or other factors, while they seek ways of redressing the problem.

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Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia

1 Nurses value quality nursing care for all people.

2 Nurses value respect and kindness for self and others.

3 Nurses value the diversity of people.

4 Nurses value access to quality nursing and health care for all people.

5 Nurses value informed decision-making.

Value Statement 5

Nurses value informed decision-making

Explanation

Nurses value people’s interests in making free and informed decisions. This includes people having the opportunity to verify the meaning and implication of information being given to them when making decisions about their nursing and health care. Nurses also recognise that making decisions is sometimes constrained by circumstances beyond individual control and that there may be circumstances where informed decision making cannot always be fully realised.

1 Self: Nurses make informed decisions in relation to their practice within the constraints of their professional role and in accordance with ethical and legal requirements. Nurses are entitled to do this without undue pressure or coercion of any kind. Nurses are responsible for ensuring their decision-making is based on contemporary, relevant and well-founded knowledge and information.

2 Person (health consumer): Nurses value the legal and moral right of people, including children, to participate whenever possible in decision-making concerning their nursing and health care and treatment, and assist them to determine their care on the basis of informed decision making. This may involve ensuring people who do not speak English have access to a qualified health interpreter. Nurses recognise and respect the rights of people to engage in shared decision-making when consenting to care and treatment. Nurses also value the contribution made by persons whose decision-making may be restricted because of incapacity, disability or other factors, including legal constraints. Nurses are knowledgeable about such circumstances and in facilitating the role of family members, partners, friends and others in contributing to decision-making processes.

3 Colleagues: Nurses respect the rights of colleagues and members of other disciplines to participate in informed decision-making. Making these collaborative and informed decisions includes involving the person requiring or receiving nursing care (or their representative) in decisions relating to their nursing or health care, without being subject to coercion of any kind.

4 Community: Nurses value the contribution made by the community to nursing and health care decision-making through a range of activities, including consumer groups, advocacy and membership of health-related committees. Nurses also assist in keeping the community accurately informed on nursing and health-related issues.

6 Nurses value a culture of safety in nursing and health care.

Value Statement 6

Nurses value a culture of safety in nursing and health care

Explanation

Valuing a culture of safety involves nurses actively engaging in the development of shared knowledge and understanding of the crucial importance of safety in contemporary health care. Nurses who value a culture of safety appreciate that safety is everyone’s responsibility. Nurses support the development of risk management processes and a practice environment designed to reduce the incidence and impact of preventable adverse events in health care. Nurses also support the open disclosure of any adverse events to any person affected during the course of their care.

1 Self: Nurses value safe practice and a safe working environment; practise within the limitations of their knowledge and skills; and recognise and avoid situations where their ability to deliver quality care may be impaired. Nurses have a moral and legal right to practise in a safe environment, without fear for their own safety or that of others, and they seek remedies through accepted channels, including legal action, when this is not the case. Nurses value the maintenance of competence in contributing to a safe care and practice environment.

2 Person (health consumer): Nurses recognise that people are vulnerable to injuries and illnesses as a result of preventable human error and adverse events while in health care settings. Nurses play a key role in the detection and prevention of errors and adverse events in health care settings, and support and participate in systems to identify circumstances where people are at risk of harm. Nurses act to prevent or control such risks through prevention, monitoring, early identification and early management of adverse events. Nurses contribute to the confidential reporting of adverse events and errors, and to organisational processes for the open disclosure of these events to persons affected during the course of their care.

3 Colleagues: Nurses work with their colleagues to create a culture of safety. Nurses support the development of safer health care systems through non-punitive human error, adverse event management and related education. Nurses value the critical relationship between consumer safety and interprofessional competencies, including trustful communication, teamwork and situation awareness. Nurses view the detection of their own errors and risks or those of their colleagues as opportunities for achieving a safer health care system.

4 Community: Nurses, acting through their professional and industrial organisations and other appropriate authorities, participate in developing and improving the safety and quality of health care services for all people. This includes actively promoting the provision of equitable, just and culturally and socially responsive health care services for all people living, or seeking residence or asylum, in Australia. It also involves raising public awareness about the nature and importance of consumer safety programs in health care services.

7 Nurses value ethical management of information.

8 Nurses value a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable environment promoting health and wellbeing.

________________________________________

Addendum 3

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 4

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.

___________________________________________

Posted in anti-vaccination, anti-vaccination dishonesty, homeopathy, nurse, public health, skeptic, stop the australian vaccination network, vaccination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Anti-vaccine nurses and midwives 41

Posted on April 20, 2017 by reasonable hank

On October 11 2016, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia responded to a number of complaints regarding anti-vaccination material and advice being disseminated by registered nurses, enrolled nurses, and registered midwives, by publishing a new position statement on anti-vaccination misinformation:

NMBA position on nurses, midwives and vaccination

The NMBA has become aware that there are a small number of registered nurses, enrolled nurses and midwives who are promoting anti-vaccination statements to patients and the public via social media which contradict the best available scientific evidence. The NMBA is taking this opportunity to make its expectations about providing advice on vaccinations clear to registered nurses, enrolled nurses and midwives.

The NMBA recognises the Australian National Immunisation Handbook 10th edition as providing evidence-based advice to health professionals about the safe and effective use of vaccines and the public health benefits associated with vaccination. The NMBA supports the use of the handbook by registered nurses, enrolled nurses and midwives who are giving vaccines. The handbook is available from the Immunise Australia Program website.

The NMBA expects all registered nurses, enrolled nurses and midwives to use the best available evidence in making practice decisions. This includes providing information to the public about public health issues.

All registered nurses, enrolled nurses and midwives are required to practise in accordance with professional standards set by the NMBA, including the codes of conduct, codes of ethics and the standards for practice, in particular the social media policy and the guidelines for advertising regulated health services.

What should I do if I notice a nurse or midwife is promoting anti-vaccination material?

If you have concerns about a nurse or midwife you can make a complaint to AHPRA. The NMBA will consider whether the nurse or midwife has breached their professional obligations and will treat these matters seriously. Any published anti-vaccination material and/or advice which is false, misleading or deceptive which is being distributed by a registered nurse, enrolled nurse or midwife (including via social media) may also constitute a summary offence under the National Law and could result in prosecution by AHPRA.

Tracey Marr-Bolton is a registered nurse from Victoria:

Marr-Bolton was identified as a registered nurse in March 2017, when she trolled the Stop the Australian (Anti) Vaccination Network Facebook page, throughout March and April 2017, with anti-vaccination misinformation. Marr-Bolton stated to SAVN page members that she was a registered nurse and that she had over thirty years of nursing experience, including working in ICU.

After being identified as a registered nurse, Marr-Bolton went on an abusive posting spree, continuing to post anti-vaccination misinformation, even after acknowledging warnings that she was in breach of the NMBA position statement included above.

Marr-Bolton’s initial Facebook username – tracey.marr.180 – indicated her real name to other Facebook users:

Marr-Bolton attempted to hide her anti-vaccination activism by changing her Facebook username to traceleochella:

SAVN page members sought out Marr-Bolton’s AHPRA registration so as to verify her claim of being a registered health practitioner.

Marr-Bolton was initially registered under the name Tracey Anne Marr, until early April  2017:

Marr-Bolton then changed her registration name to Tracey Anne Bolton, in an attempt to further conceal her anti-vaccination activism:

Marr-Bolton also sent abusive private messages to a SAVN page member, claiming that her privacy had been breached by SAVN page members searching the public AHPRA register of  practitioners. She then continued to troll the SAVN page, even after changing her Facebook and registration names.

From March 30 2017, messages from Marr-Bolton to a SAVN page member:

Marr-Bolton’s comment, above, that the “hospital came out second best for their lies”, refers to a previous employer that terminated her employment, as outlined in this Maribyrnong Leader article, from 2015:

Western Health nurse dismissed for administering wrong dosages

Bridie Byrne, Maribyrnong Leader

A NURSE has been sacked for administering the wrong drug dosages to critical-care patients at a hospital in Melbourne’s west.

Footscray Hospital intensive care nurse Tracey Marr lodged an application in January to the Fair Work Commission for unfair dismissal.

But the commission rejected her claim and upheld Western Health’s decision to sack Ms Marr.

The hospital argued she had made potentially life-threatening errors on three separate occasions.

On March 6, 2013, Ms Marr gave the incorrect dosage of the drug Tirofiban, which helps reduce the rate of thrombotic cardiovascular events, to a patient.

On September, 26, 2013, she administered Oxynorm, a painkiller, to a patient who was using a patient-controlled analgesia pump, when their medical chart indicated the drug not be administered if they were using a PCA pump.

On August, 4, 2014, she gave Actrapid, an insulin drug, to a patient despite already administering it two hours earlier.

Ms Marr, 54, was employed by Western Health in the ICU at Gordon St between 2006 and the date of her dismissal on December 24, 2014.

The commission found her contract termination wasn’t “harsh, unjust or unreasonable.”

In a Fair Work Commission transcript, posted on the Australasian Legal Information Institute website, Ms Marr disputed the August 4 incident claiming the term QID (four times a day) wasn’t written before 1am and 3am on the patient’s medication chart as the hourly frequency for the administering of Actrapid and was added sometime after 6am.

She gave evidence that there was a culture in the ICU whereby doctors, on occasion, don’t give the hourly frequency, leaving it up to the nurse to decide when to administer the drug.

But the commission was satisfied QID was written on the chart and didn’t accept the claim that when a doctor doesn’t state the frequency they could be intending to leave it up to the nurse to determine. Doctor Patrick Dunne, who prescribed the drug, told the commission he wasn’t in the practice of writing blank prescriptions.

“Insulin is not a medication that I would ever leave as an open PRN (when-necessary order), i.e. without an interval frequency, due to the potential harm that could be caused to a patient from over-treating,” Dr Dunne said.

The latest Health Department data confirms medical mistakes are extremely rare with only 3 per cent of 23 reported events accounting for a medication error.

On March 5 2017, Marr-Bolton posted an anti-vaccination conspiracy theory to the SAVN page:

On March 25 2017, Marr-Bolton posted an anti-vaccination paper which asserts, wrongly, that Australian vaccines contain “thiomerasil” [sic], and went on to accuse doctors of being liars:

On March 28 2017, Marr-Bolton posted a link from an anti-vaccination website to bolster her arguments:

On March 30 2017, Marr-Bolton accused SAVN page members of being hackers, and stated that she would inform AHPRA of her activities on the SAVN page:

On March 31 2017, Marr-Bolton accused a named medical practitioner of acting illegally, and continued to abuse other page members and accuse them of breaching her privacy:

On March 31 2017, Marr-Bolton posted to the SAVN page a second time to make accusations of illegal activity against page members:

On March 31 2017, Marr-Bolton posted to the SAVN page a third time and stated that she would be lodging vexatious AHPRA complaints against two named registered health practitioners:

On April 13 2017, Marr-Bolton returned to accuse the medical profession of being dishonest:

On April 15 2017, Marr-Bolton returned to start posting anti-vaccination and other abusive comments on the SAVN page reviews section:

On April 15 2017, Marr-Bolton posted a CDC conspiracy link to the SAVN page:

On April 17 2017, Marr-Bolton posted a debunked and retracted anti-vaccination paper to the SAVN page:

On April 17 2017, Marr-Bolton posted an article about the Disneyland measles outbreak, not realising that it argued against her anti-vaccination position:

On April 17 2017, Marr-Bolton posted an article criticising the stockpiling of Tamiflu and other antiviral medications, not knowing that these medications have nothing to do with vaccines:

The following addenda contain excerpts from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia’s competency standards, codes, guidelines, and social media policy from which readers may wish to choose when lodging any complaint regarding the anti-vaccination activism of Tracey Marr-Bolton.

Thanks for reading.

_________________________________

Addendum 1

National competency standards for the registered nurse (PDF)

Professional practice

Relates to the professional, legal and ethical responsibilities which require demonstration of a satisfactory knowledge base, accountability for practice, functioning in accordance with legislation affecting nursing and health care, and the protection of individual and group rights.

1 Practises in accordance with legislation affecting nursing practice and health care

1.1 Complies with relevant legislation and common law

1.2 Fulfils the duty of care

1.3 Recognises and responds appropriately to unsafe or unprofessional practice

2 Practises within a professional and ethical nursing framework

2.1 Practises in accordance with the nursing profession’s codes of ethics and conduct

2.2 Integrates organisational policies and guidelines with professional standards

2.3 Practises in a way that acknowledges the dignity, culture, values, beliefs and rights of individuals/groups

2.4 Advocates for individuals/groups and their rights for nursing and health care within organisational and management structures

2.5 Understands and practises within own scope of practice

2.6 Integrates nursing and health care knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide safe and effective nursing care

2.7 Recognises the differences in accountability and responsibility between registered nurses, enrolled nurses and unlicensed care workers

Critical thinking and analysis

Relates to self-appraisal, professional development and the value of evidence and research for practice. Reflecting on practice, feelings and beliefs and the consequences of these for individuals/ groups is an important professional bench- mark.

3 Practises within an evidence-based framework

3.1 Identifies the relevance of research to improving individual/group health outcomes

3.2 Uses best available evidence, nursing expertise and respect for the values and beliefs of individuals/groups in the provision of nursing care

3.3 Demonstrates analytical skills in accessing and evaluating health information and research evidence

3.4 Supports and contributes to nursing and health care research

3.5 Participates in quality improvement activities

4 Participates in ongoing professional development of self and others

4.1 Uses best available evidence, standards and guidelines to evaluate nursing performance:

4.2 Participates in professional development to enhance nursing practice

4.3 Contributes to the professional development of others

4.4 Uses appropriate strategies to manage own responses to the professional work environment

Provision and coordination of care

Relates to the coordination, organisation and provision of nursing care that includes the assessment of individuals/ groups, planning, implementation and evaluation of care.

5 Conducts a comprehensive and systematic nursing assessment

5.1 Uses a relevant evidence-based assessment framework to collect data about the physical socio-cultural and mental health of the individual/group

5.2 Uses a range of assessment techniques to collect relevant and accurate data

5.3 Analyses and interprets assessment data accurately

6 Plans nursing care in consultation with individuals/groups, significant others and the interdisciplinary health care team

6.1 Determines agreed priorities for resolving health needs of individuals/groups:

6.2 Identifies expected and agreed individual/group health outcomes including a time frame for achievement

6.3 Documents a plan of care to achieve expected outcomes

6.4 Plans for continuity of care to achieve expected outcomes

7 Provides comprehensive, safe and effective evidence-based nursing care to achieve identified individual/group health outcomes

7.1 Effectively manages the nursing care of individuals/groups

7.2 Provides nursing care according to the documented care or treatment plan

7.3 Prioritises workload based on the individual/group’s needs, acuity and optimal time for intervention

7.4 Responds effectively to unexpected or rapidly changing situations

7.5 Delegates aspects of care to others according to their competence and scope of practice

7.6 Provides effective and timely direction and supervision to ensure that delegated care is provided safely and accurately

7.7 Educates individuals/groups to promote independence and control over their health

8 Evaluates progress towards expected individual/group health outcomes in consultation with individuals/groups, significant others and interdisciplinary health care team

8.1 Determines progress of individuals/groups toward planned outcomes

8.2 Revises the plan of care and determines further outcomes in accordance with evaluation data

Collaborative and therapeutic practice

Relates to establishing, sustaining and concluding professional relationships with individuals/groups. This also contains those competencies that relate to nurses understanding their contribution to the interdisciplinary health care team.

9 Establishes, maintains and appropriately concludes therapeutic relationships

9.1 Establishes therapeutic relationships that are goal directed and recognises professional boundaries

9.2 Communicates effectively with individuals/groups to facilitate provision of care

9.3 Uses appropriate strategies to promote an individual’s/group’s self-esteem, dignity, integrity and

9.4 Assists and supports individuals/groups to make informed health care decisions

9.5 Facilitates a physical, psychosocial, cultural and spiritual environment that promotes individual/group safety and security

10 Collaborates with the interdisciplinary health care team to provide comprehensive nursing care

10.1 Recognises that the membership and roles of health care teams and service providers will vary depending on an individual’s/group’s needs and health care setting

10.2 Communicates nursing assessments and decisions to the interdisciplinary health care team and other relevant service providers

10.3 Facilitates coordination of care to achieve agreed health outcomes

10.4 Collaborates with the health care team to inform policy and guideline development

________________________________

Addendum 2

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Codes and Guidelines.

Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses in Australia

1 Nurses practise in a safe and competent manner.

2 Nurses practise in accordance with the standards of the profession and broader health system.

Conduct Statement 2

Nurses practise in accordance with the standards of the profession and broader health system

Explanation

1 Nurses are responsible for ensuring the standard of their practice conforms to professional standards developed and agreed by the profession, with the object of enhancing the safety of people in their care as well as their partners, family members and other members of the person’s nominated network. This responsibility also applies to the nurses’ colleagues.

2 Nurses practise in accordance with wider standards relating to safety and quality in health care and accountability for a safe health system, such as those relating to health documentation and information management, incident reporting and participation in adverse event analysis and formal open disclosure procedures.

3 Nurses practise and conduct themselves in accordance with laws relevant to the profession and practice of nursing.

Conduct Statement 3

Nurses practise and conduct themselves in accordance with laws relevant to the profession and practice of nursing

Explanation

1 Nurses are familiar with relevant laws and ensure they do not engage in clinical or other practices prohibited by such laws or delegate to others activities prohibited by those laws.

2 Nurses witnessing the unlawful conduct of colleagues and other co-workers, whether in clinical, management, education or research areas of practice, have both a responsibility and an obligation to report such conduct to an appropriate authority and take other appropriate action as necessary to safeguard people and the public interest.

4 Nurses respect the dignity, culture, ethnicity, values and beliefs of people receiving care and treatment, and of their colleagues.

5 Nurses treat personal information obtained in a professional capacity as private and confidential.

6 Nurses provide impartial, honest and accurate information in relation to nursing care and health care products.

Conduct Statement 6

Nurses provide impartial, honest and accurate information in relation to nursing care and health care products

Explanation

1 When nurses provide advice about any care or product, they fully explain the advantages and disadvantages of alternative care or products so individuals can make informed choices. Nurses refrain from engaging in exploitation, misinformation or misrepresentation with regard to health care products and nursing care.

2 Nurses accurately represent the nature of their services or the care they intend to provide.

3 Where a specific care or a specific product is advised, nurses ensure their advice is based on adequate knowledge and not on commercial or other forms of gain. Deceptive endorsement of products or services or receipt of remuneration for products or services primarily for personal gain, other than remuneration in the course of a proper commercial relationship, is improper.

7 Nurses support the health, wellbeing and informed decision-making of people requiring or receiving care.

8 Nurses promote and preserve the trust and privilege inherent in the relationship between nurses and people receiving care.

Conduct Statement 8

Nurses promote and preserve the trust and privilege inherent in the relationship between nurses and people receiving care

Explanation

1 An inherent power imbalance exists within the relationship between people receiving care and nurses that may make the persons in their care vulnerable and open to exploitation. Nurses actively preserve the dignity of people through practised kindness and respect for the vulnerability and powerlessness of people in their care. Significant vulnerability and powerlessness can arise from the experience of illness and the need to engage with the health care system. The power relativities between a person and a nurse can be significant, particularly where the person has limited knowledge; experiences pain and illness; needs assistance with personal care; belongs to a marginalised group; or experiences an unfamiliar loss of self-determination. This vulnerability creates a power differential in the relationship between nurses and persons in their care that must be recognised and managed.

4 Nurses fulfil roles outside the professional role, including those as family members, friends and community members. Nurses are aware that dual relationships may compromise care outcomes and always conduct professional relationships with the primary intent of benefit for the person receiving care. Nurses take care when giving professional advice to people with whom they have a dual relationship (e.g. a family member or friend) and advise them to seek independent advice due to the existence of actual or potential conflicts of interest.

9 Nurses maintain and build on the community’s trust and confidence in the nursing profession.

Conduct Statement 9

Nurses maintain and build on the community’s trust and confidence in the nursing profession

Explanation

1 The conduct of nurses maintains and builds public trust and confidence in the profession at all times.

2 The unlawful and unethical actions of nurses in their personal lives risk adversely affecting both their own and the profession’s good reputation and standing in the eyes of the public. If the good standing of either individual nurses or the profession were to diminish, this might jeopardise the inherent trust between the nursing profession and the public necessary for effective therapeutic relationships and the effective delivery of nursing care.

3 Nurses consider the ethical interests of the nursing profession and the community when exercising their right to freedom of speech and participating in public, political and academic debate, including publication.

10 Nurses practise nursing reflectively and ethically.

Conduct Statement 10

Nurses practise nursing reflectively and ethically

Explanation

1 Nurses practise nursing reflectively and ethically, in accordance with the Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia, in order to learn from experience and contribute to personal and professional practice.

2 Nurses develop and maintain appropriate and current quality nursing advice, support and care for each person requiring and receiving care and their partners, families and other members of their nominated social network. This responsibility also applies to colleagues of nurses.

3 Nurses evaluate their conduct and competency according to the standards of the nursing profession.

4 Nurses contribute to the professional development of students and colleagues.

5 Nurses participating in research do so in accordance with recognised research guidelines and do not violate their duty of care to persons receiving nursing care.

6 Nurses advise employers and any persons in their care of any reduction in their capacity to practise due to health, social or other factors, while they seek ways of redressing the problem.

_____________________________________

Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia

1 Nurses value quality nursing care for all people.

2 Nurses value respect and kindness for self and others.

3 Nurses value the diversity of people.

4 Nurses value access to quality nursing and health care for all people.

5 Nurses value informed decision-making.

Value Statement 5

Nurses value informed decision-making

Explanation

Nurses value people’s interests in making free and informed decisions. This includes people having the opportunity to verify the meaning and implication of information being given to them when making decisions about their nursing and health care. Nurses also recognise that making decisions is sometimes constrained by circumstances beyond individual control and that there may be circumstances where informed decision making cannot always be fully realised.

1 Self: Nurses make informed decisions in relation to their practice within the constraints of their professional role and in accordance with ethical and legal requirements. Nurses are entitled to do this without undue pressure or coercion of any kind. Nurses are responsible for ensuring their decision-making is based on contemporary, relevant and well-founded knowledge and information.

2 Person (health consumer): Nurses value the legal and moral right of people, including children, to participate whenever possible in decision-making concerning their nursing and health care and treatment, and assist them to determine their care on the basis of informed decision making. This may involve ensuring people who do not speak English have access to a qualified health interpreter. Nurses recognise and respect the rights of people to engage in shared decision-making when consenting to care and treatment. Nurses also value the contribution made by persons whose decision-making may be restricted because of incapacity, disability or other factors, including legal constraints. Nurses are knowledgeable about such circumstances and in facilitating the role of family members, partners, friends and others in contributing to decision-making processes.

3 Colleagues: Nurses respect the rights of colleagues and members of other disciplines to participate in informed decision-making. Making these collaborative and informed decisions includes involving the person requiring or receiving nursing care (or their representative) in decisions relating to their nursing or health care, without being subject to coercion of any kind.

4 Community: Nurses value the contribution made by the community to nursing and health care decision-making through a range of activities, including consumer groups, advocacy and membership of health-related committees. Nurses also assist in keeping the community accurately informed on nursing and health-related issues.

6 Nurses value a culture of safety in nursing and health care.

Value Statement 6

Nurses value a culture of safety in nursing and health care

Explanation

Valuing a culture of safety involves nurses actively engaging in the development of shared knowledge and understanding of the crucial importance of safety in contemporary health care. Nurses who value a culture of safety appreciate that safety is everyone’s responsibility. Nurses support the development of risk management processes and a practice environment designed to reduce the incidence and impact of preventable adverse events in health care. Nurses also support the open disclosure of any adverse events to any person affected during the course of their care.

1 Self: Nurses value safe practice and a safe working environment; practise within the limitations of their knowledge and skills; and recognise and avoid situations where their ability to deliver quality care may be impaired. Nurses have a moral and legal right to practise in a safe environment, without fear for their own safety or that of others, and they seek remedies through accepted channels, including legal action, when this is not the case. Nurses value the maintenance of competence in contributing to a safe care and practice environment.

2 Person (health consumer): Nurses recognise that people are vulnerable to injuries and illnesses as a result of preventable human error and adverse events while in health care settings. Nurses play a key role in the detection and prevention of errors and adverse events in health care settings, and support and participate in systems to identify circumstances where people are at risk of harm. Nurses act to prevent or control such risks through prevention, monitoring, early identification and early management of adverse events. Nurses contribute to the confidential reporting of adverse events and errors, and to organisational processes for the open disclosure of these events to persons affected during the course of their care.

3 Colleagues: Nurses work with their colleagues to create a culture of safety. Nurses support the development of safer health care systems through non-punitive human error, adverse event management and related education. Nurses value the critical relationship between consumer safety and interprofessional competencies, including trustful communication, teamwork and situation awareness. Nurses view the detection of their own errors and risks or those of their colleagues as opportunities for achieving a safer health care system.

4 Community: Nurses, acting through their professional and industrial organisations and other appropriate authorities, participate in developing and improving the safety and quality of health care services for all people. This includes actively promoting the provision of equitable, just and culturally and socially responsive health care services for all people living, or seeking residence or asylum, in Australia. It also involves raising public awareness about the nature and importance of consumer safety programs in health care services.

7 Nurses value ethical management of information.

8 Nurses value a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable environment promoting health and wellbeing.

________________________________________

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.

___________________________________________

 

Posted in anti-vaccination, anti-vaccination dishonesty, hospitals, Immunisation, nurse, public health, skeptic, stop the australian vaccination network, vaccination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Anti-Vaccination Australia goes after Kitty Flanagan and The Weekly

Posted on April 17, 2017 by reasonable hank

On April 12 2017 the ABC’s comedy news program, The Weekly, gave us a gem on the dangers posed by the anti-vaccination movement. It was accurate. And it understood the minutiae of the awful anti-vaccination arguments. And Kitty Flanagan was at her best:

The anti-vaccination movement responded as only the anti-vaccination movement knows how. It went after Kitty Flanagan, host Charlie Pickering, and The Weekly.

Anti-Vaccination Australia is the rabid Facebook group founded by and administered by Belgin Colak-Arslan, of Sydney, and Breana Stanley, of Melbourne. Both were at the forefront of the attack and doxxing of an innocent man from Byron Bay, because his name is similar to Reasonable Hank’s real name.

As is our wont, anti-vaccinationists’ comments are published here so they can speak for themselves. Our families and friends deserve to know exactly how the anti-vaccination movement behaves, on a daily basis. As usual, this list – which includes typically condoned and uncensored anti-Semitism and misogyny – is not extensive. Links to Facebook profiles  are provided so as to verify the authenticity of these profiles; they are real antivaxers, not “trolls” or “plants”, as the leaders of the anti-vaccination movement always claim.

Peter Angel:

PHARMA SLUT !!!

GIVE HER 1,000 HPV VACCINES AT ONCE !

LIES & PROPAGANDA THAT INJURES & KILLS CHILDREN IS FUNNY ???

LET’S MAKE A JOKE ABOUT HER & HER PARENTS BEING RIPPED TO PIECES BY PIT BULLS

THE MEDIA, BIG OIL, BIG PHARMA & GOVERNMENTS ARE TOTALLY CONTROLLED BY THE ZIONIST SCUM, KHAZAR’S (FAKE JEWS). MURDOCH IS THEIR NUMBER ONE MEDIA BARRON CONTROLLING NEWS IN AU, THE UK & US.

Jimmy Pontian (who claims to be a veteran registered nurse, but, refuses to provide his registration details):

They’re pathetic. Not a journalist bone in their body

David Bebarfield:

Fuck vaccines,
Fuck the media,
Fuck American drug cartels,
Fuck the government.

Anastasia Xenitellis:

I wonder how much they were paid to do this segment…

Bryce Frazer:

“ABC” A Bunch of Cunts

Andrei Fazekis:

Tel-lie-vision is there for those who are too inept to make their own decisions, like fish in a pond which are riddled with a common disease of ignorance. Or cognitive dissonance.

Donovan Christie:

Aka Televise Zion

Colin Collie McLeary:

She is a washed out has been .. who would sell her soul to the devil to get on TV .. in fact she just did ..

Jazz McLaughlin:

What an absolute fuckwit.

Rachel Ascher:

I can’t bear to watch. What a load of nonsense!!! Sad, Sad, Sad, and the audience is laughing bunch of brain dead zombies!!!

Lewis Hiley:

Comedians can be hired like prostitutes to do whatever you pay them to do

Greg French:

Her, Penn & Teller and Elmo. A bunch of Muppets with someones hands up their arses.

Sharon Abbott:

Oh look Chemtrails in a can

Catherine Johnson:

I USED to like Kitty Flanagan .
I didn’t realise she was so stupid and another sheeple

Wendy Tremain:

Charlie and Kitty .. you are dropped!

Holly Whittenbury:

but charlie has always been a self righteous pompous little prick have you only just noticed?!

 Marlize Marx:

I wonder how much they got paid to spread the lies

Madge Windsor:

Worst read script ever and a friend even put it on my news feed. He has since removed his post lol, fancy trying to argue vax with me!

Sandra Spadini:

This woman is simple. Trying to be comical with such an important issue. Her method for explaining the benefits of immunisation is an insult to the nation. Delusional is what she is.

Daniel Yarro:

That is some brainwashing (for fools and uneducated people only) shit!

Elizabeth Deleva Papagiannis:

I couldn’t get passed watching half of this piece of s$1t

Colin Collie McLeary:

Kitty Flanagan .. has been comedian, who would sell her soul to the devil to get on TV .. oh she just did ..

Helen Stephens:

I always thought these two were desperate, poor excuses for comedians. Now I’m sure of it. Good on the people of Byron!

Amaya Ferret:

The paid side

Kathy Matthew:

A so called Comedian – well she is prob just another paid puppet!

Sarah Johnston:

Charlie Pickering is the Buzzfeed of TV. I had to stop watching The Project years ago because I couldn’t stand him and his smug bias.

Sumukhi Dasi:

Astounding ignorance!

A comedy of ERRORS Kitty!

What a propaganda puppet, no mind of her own, just a vox poppolli cash cow, a status quo quotient quacker! What a dumby!

Kat Creasey:

Shes an idiot
And charlie still owes me money

Jazzi Galo Silva:

Pathetic, garbage load of propaganda

Adam Crabb:

They need some clowns on Unicycles with big red noses & horns to vaccinate these imbeciles.

Katerina Robertson:

What idiot she is .could not stand watching the rubbish coming out of that mouth .i wanted how Much she actually got paid to act like a clown ??

Lewis Hiley:

Just hired goons to say whatever you tell them to say. Comedians are not that smart to even realise they are being used

Riân Grant:

Fuck…. i use to love her..

William Scott:

It’s called “pay to say” !, abc is the worst propaganda monger in Australia !.

Carole Cornock:

Sad

Holly Whittenbury:

i used to like kitty but this is ridiculous. I thought she had the ability to think….so disrespectful and she has no idea what she is actually supporting.

Diane Teasdale:

well paid for this I am sure………………..

Brenda Rule:

Just as stupid as mike bairds sloth campaign.

Keri Lea:

I’d love to know how much these pricks are being ‘sponsored’ to spout this drivel?

Karen Scott:

Disgraceful wasn’t funny at all and so pro vax. Even a dig in there about Pauline Hanson.

Updates

Images will be added as they come in. Like the following…

Dave Tucker:

Fuck off kitty you have lost me you sell out with your reddiculas bull shit

Bree Nai:

kitty has no kids and likely has no actual interest in the vaccination debate because it doesnt affect her. Its easy to joke about something that you are not affected by.

Kiandra Jarrett:

Two of my family members have shared this infuriating to watch!

Tamai Bremner:

what the actual f#@!

Kiandra Jarrett:

Full on and so wrong. Sharing lies.

Angela Sotiriou:

Whores of the Elite!!

Jessica Kelly:

Oooooh Angela, I so love your post

Angela Sotiriou:

I commented on the Weekly fb page on the 12th and am still getting replies today!!! Oh some of the comments are just so childish.

no I didn’t think i would make a breakthrough, but sometimes it’s just amazing to see their reaction and comments.

Kathryn Rose Madigan:

Sorry but I won’t even read this, Kitty Flanagan is a imbecile. Never liked her, she is not even funny. Crikey talk about the dumbing down of the masses, if people are in to her.

Vickie Keiser:

With a little yellow school bus and wooden “people”? This is the “science” offered by mainstream? (Just looking at the picture associated with the link.)

Robert Schecter:

I love how these pathetic morons think their saying something is hilarious makes it so. Vaccine groupies are beyond delusional

Sharon Harvey:

What’s this? Pro vaxers using celebrities to get their message out???!!! Hypocritical much. Also, very apt using a comedian, cos the whole industry is a joke!

Peter Angel (comment repeated):

PHARMA SLUT

Andrea Torok:

just another IDIOT who sold her soul to Satan!

Michelle Lannon Vahey:

No words
Can’t fix stupid

Rachael Mahe:

She got one thing “right” – a can of deodorant has nearly as many chemicals and additives as one vaccine – good example but you still a stupid sheep ! Baa baa !!

Stevens Mazz:

Spraying it on to the skin and injecting it is two different things. She’s a dumb arse

Sharon Abbott:

Maybe chem trails in a can

Rachel Ascher:

Why oh why do people like to advertise the fact they are stupid. I don’t get it.

Greg French:

Yep lets all take medical advise from a comedian, 2 Illusionists and a muppet. What could go wrong?

Kathryn Sproule:

What ignorant uninformed fools to the World Agenda.
I shake my head to the comments of so called safe levels of formaldehyde mercury cow antibiotic blood of embrio calves aluminium. …it goes on. Im so over dumb ppl

Vaccine Free Australia is another rabid anti-vaccination group.

Kiandra Jarrett:

Two of my family members have shared this. Infuriating to watch

Anna Kist:

Made me decide that she is a dumb twat.

Tammy C McLeod:

Fuck, I had to turn that shit off.

Margaret Smith:

made me want to vomit

Louise Woods:

Its very fitting they we have a comedian flying the flag for the vaccine mentality, cos its a HUGE JOKE that vaccines are presented as safe n effective n they think informed parents like dumb sheep will line their children up in front of the big pharma firing squad for target practice!!!!

Jenny Healy:

So sad that there are no real investigative journalists in the mainstream media, as if there were we wouldn’t see rubbish like this. Talk about biased. Never a balanced perspective in regards to such an important topic.

Rana Kordahi:

There should be vomit  emoticon

Dagmar Ganser:

Until you KNOW what you are talking about Kitty, please abstain from such rubbish. Please listen to the documentary series The Truth About Vaccines. Then, and only then, will you be able to shed light on the subject.

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Posted in abuse, anti-vaccination, anti-vaccination dishonesty, Anti-vaccine thugs, australian vaccination network, Immunisation, public health, Public mobbing, skeptic, stop the australian vaccination network, vaccination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Australian chiropractic gone to the dogs (and turtles)

Posted on April 4, 2017 by reasonable hank

News broke yesterday that the Veterinary Surgeons Board of SA had instigated legal action against a chiropractor for treating animals. From Meagan Dillon at The Advertiser:

A CHIROPRACTOR is being prosecuted for allegedly treating six dogs and a cat at his southern suburbs practice — charging up  to $55 per session and diagnosing diseases such as cancer and arthritis, court documents reveal.

The Veterinary Surgeons Board of SA has charged Christies Beach Chiropractic owner Dr Bernard Nadolny with eight counts of treating an animal for fee or reward. Dr Nadolny appeared in the Christies Beach Magistrates Court last week, when his case was adjourned until May.

The charges were laid under the Veterinary Practice Act, which prohibits people from providing paid veterinary treatment unless, at the time the treatment was provided, the person was qualified to do so.

Image courtesy The Advertiser

Long time readers might recall images which have appeared in this blog over the last four years. If there is one thing you can count on, it’s the ability for registered health practitioners with an overindulgence in hubris to self-incriminate.

What follows is a collection of screenshots from the pages of chiropractors, found with a very brief search of the terms “dog” and “pug”,  from our own album collection.

The Chiropractic Board of Australia must wring its hands and tug its collar in despair.

October 22 2015 – anti-vaccination chiropractor Tim Shakespeare:

April 11 2013 – anti-vaccination chiropractor and current president of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia Queensland, Bruce Whittingham; and anti-vaccination chiropractor and current board secretary of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia, Adam Smith:

May 22 2013 – anti-vaccination chiropractor, and former national board member of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia, Billy Chow:

May 22 2013 – anti-vaccination chiropractor, and former national board member of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia, Billy Chow:

December 3 2015 – anti-vaccination chiropractor Anthony Golle:

January 9 2014 – Openspace Healing:

March 16 2015 – anti-vaccination chiropractors Simon Floreani – a former national president of the Chiropractors Association of Australia – and Jennifer Barham-Floreani:

November 1 2013 – anti-vaccination chiropractors Matthew Hodgson and Whitney Ohlund, at Platinum Chiropractic Erina:

April 24 2014 – anti-vaccination chiropractor Peter Snodgrass:

January 28 2014 – anti-vaccination chiropractor Peter Snodgrass:

November 14 2013 – anti-vaccination chiropractor Peter Snodgrass:

April 12 2012 – anti-vaccination chiropractor Peter Snodgrass:

September 3 2013 – anti-vaccination chiropractor Kirby Collins:

June 11 2013 – former business of anti-vaccination chiropractor Gordon Benz:

And last, but, not least, dragging his anus across the carpet of Australian chiropractic…

May 30 2013 – Clicking the Pug, with anti-vaccination chiropractors Matthew Hodgson and Whitney Ohlund, at Platinum Chiropractic Erina:

This collection will remain live as more screenshots come in; this collection was only a quick selection.

If readers find any more, they can email us at reasonablehank [at] gmail [dot] com. You can send a link to the photos, or your own images, and we’ll add them here.

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Posted in anti-vaccination, chiropractic | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

As Byron Bay Council defends appearance of professional antivaxer, unimmunised child airlifted to Brisbane with tetanus

Posted on March 17, 2017 by reasonable hank

On March 15 2017, a deliberately unimmunised seven-year-old child suffering from tetanus was airlifted to Brisbane. From ABC North Coast’s Bruce MacKenzie, today:

A northern New South Wales doctor says a seven-year-old child who is in a critical condition after being diagnosed with tetanus was not immunised.

The girl was initially treated at Lismore, before being transferred to Brisbane’s Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital on Wednesday.

Tetanus is a potentially fatal disease which is transmitted by bacteria in soil, and can enter the bloodstream through minor wounds.

On March 15 2017, immunisation experts and advocates emphasised the danger posed to the NSW Northern Rivers by professional anti-vaccination entrepreneur, David Avocado Wolfe, in his sold-out talk given at the Mullumbimby Civic Hall, on March 16 2017 (last night). From ABC North Coast’s Joanne Shoebridge and Samantha Turnbull:

Pro-vaccination campaigners are concerned David ‘Avocado’ Wolfe, a self-described “rock star of the superfoods and longevity universe”, will exacerbate vaccine scepticism during his visit to northern New South Wales this week.

Mr Wolfe will speak in Mullumbimby, which has the lowest vaccination rates in Australia, on Thursday night.

The internationally renowned conspiracy theorist has more than 10 million Facebook followers and has been outspoken in his stance against vaccination in the past.

The Byron Bay Shire Council runs the Mullumbimby Civic Hall:

Northern Rivers Vaccination Supporters spokeswoman Alison Gaylard criticised the Byron Shire Council, which has representatives on the board of the Mullumbimby Civic Hall, for making the venue available.

“The council also runs immunisation clinics, so it’s a bit ironic they’re willing to give this man and his opinions a platform,” she said.

The Council’s representative, Mark Arnold, added the following:

Council’s director of corporate and community services Mark Arnold said the council did not have a position on vaccination.

“Our halls are managed by local committees and there is currently no list of who can or can’t hire the public venues,” he said.

On March 16 2017, whilst noting that he is personally “pro-vaccination”, and noting that the council needs to review its venue hiring policies, given the community concern, Deputy Mayor Basil Cameron defended businessman Wolfe’s paid appearance as a matter of “freedom of speech.” From ABC North Coast, with Joanne Shoebridge:

But, not all Byron Bay councilors are nonchalant about allowing council-run premises to be used by anti-vaccination businesspersons.

In today’s The Northern Star, Councilor Paul Spooner was blunt about this use of the premises:

Cr Spooner said he would have made an attempt to stop last night’s event, if he knew about it earlier.

“I was quite concerned that council had let out the Mullumbimby Civic Hall to David Wolfe because I think it’s quite irresponsible.

“By not vaccinating, we’re really opening the door to illnesses that have caused a lot of death in the past and I think this generation has forgotten that.”

Cr Michael Lyon said he was “pro-choice”.

“I don’t believe in forced vaccination,” Cr Lyon said.

“(The Mullumbimby Civic Hall) is not council-funded.

“It’s run by the council, but the council does not subsidise it.

“I don’t think we’re saying we support anti-vaccination if we’re letting the hall, that is a long bow to draw.”

Cr Spooner said that response was a “cop out”: “It’s a council facility, the council has put a board in place and and recently put in air condition.”

Not all Byron Bay councilors are, however, as amenable to rational thought as Cr Spooner:

Jeannette Martin said she supported David Wolfe’s visit and she was concerned about the Federal Government’s move towards increasing vaccination rates through the newly announced No Jab, No Play program.

“Noone was forced to go (to David Wolfe’s talk). I am pro choice,” Cr Martin said.

“I think there’s a lot of research coming out that makes the (vaccination) program questionable and if we follow the money the people who are doing well are the pharmaceutical companies.

“I have concerns about the extent of the program and have extreme concerns about forcing vaccinations, I think people need to do their own research.”

This anti-vaccination post also appears on Cr Jeannette Martin’s Facebook profile:

In a show of their regard for “freedom of speech”, late yesterday, Wolfe event organisers banned all media from the Mullumbimby event. From ABC North Coast’s Facebook page:

MEDIA BAN AT DAVID ‘AVOCADO’ WOLFE EVENT IN BYRON SHIRE

A media ban has been imposed on the David ‘Avocado’ Wolfe event in #Mullumbimby tonight.

ABC North Coast reporter Samantha Turnbull had her ticket refunded this afternoon and received a call from the event’s public relations manager saying media would be banned from attending the event.

…

Mullumbimby has the lowest vaccination rates in Australia.

*Note, the original tickets were purchased at the journalists’ expense and not provided by the event organisers.

We send our best wishes and thoughts for the recovery of the little girl who had no choice in any of this.

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Posted in anti-vaccination, anti-vaccination dishonesty, Anti-vaccine thugs, australian vaccination network, AVN, Conspiracy theory, Immunisation, public health, skeptic, stop the australian vaccination network, vaccination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments