Doctors warn: Culture of fear and silence in the Australian medical profession puts patients at risk

My latest article for Umbrella News carries an ominous warning from Australian doctors.

Cardiologist and president of the Australian Medical Professionals Society (AMPS), Dr Chris Neil, warns that a culture of fear and silence in Australian medicine is undermining the doctor-patient relationship.

Dr Neil points to AHPRA’s position statement on the Covid vaccine rollout (March 2021) as the root of this “dangerous shift in Australian medicine,” in which doctors are becoming increasingly beholden to governments and bureaucrats instead of the individual patient. Impending changes to the National Law threaten to compound the problem, extending medical censorship beyond the Covid vaccine rollout to any matter that falls under the purview of public health.

Doctors warn: Culture of fear and silence in the Australian medical profession puts patients at risk

Thanks to Drs Chris Neil, Duncan Syme, Mark Hobart and Joe Kosterich for speaking with me on this issue for Umbrella News. All four doctors are in agreement that urgent reform is required to arrest the culture of fear and silence that has taken hold of the Australian medical profession.

What happens next has implications for all Australians, says Dr Neil. “Any significant shift in medical culture will have a corresponding impact on culture in general,” he says. “We believe Australia is witnessing a negative shift of that nature, through the very real curtailment of the intellectual freedom and independence of doctors and other health professionals, which negatively impacts therapeutic relationships across this nation.”

This is a matter of national importance. If you plan to go to the doctor ever again in Australia, this directly affects you. If you have children who will need to see a doctor, this directly affects them.

I hope you will read and share this important warning.

Doctors warn: Culture of fear and silence in the Australian medical profession puts patients at risk

I also encourage you to take action.

AMPS has pulled together a collection of resources to Stop the Silence in the Australian medical profession. Sign a petition, send a letter, join a union, or donate:

Join the AMPS campaign to Stop the Silence in the Australian medical profession

You can also learn more about AMPS’s Stop Medical Censorship tour and resources:

AMPS Stop Medical Censorship tour and resources

Doctors protest medical censorship in Melbourne, 27 August 2022