AHPRA and related medical regulators have been in the news recently. After what was presumably a substantial lobbying effort, they have been granted new powers to deal with health bloggers. You know, the ones who forced doctors to begrudgingly admit that low carb diets work for diabetes, and cannabis products work for some with intractable epilepsy. Embarrassing isn't it?
Yet over the same time period they seem to have been doing nothing about the appalling number of neonatal deaths at Bacchus Marsh.
Bacchus Marsh - the name invokes contrary images. No doubt AHPRA and friends are celebrating their newfound power Bacchanalian style, while would be parents are in a marsh of despair.
Word nerds will also note Crookwell, NSW as an oxymoron. They may also point to the tautological Wombeyan Caves located nearby.
Back to serious and some comments from the Victorian Health Minister.
According to the ABC she said the regulator had not done its job and must focus more on patients' interests.
It quotes her as saying
"..there was series of cascading failures."
"There was a failure at the regulator level.. to pick up some of the early warning signs."
Looking back over my last dozen posts, you can see how many organisations think that there is a problem with doctors hiding bad outcomes, or researchers hiding findings they don't like by selective presentation of data. The BMJ, the ICMJE, The Singapore Statement authors, Retractionwatch. the list goes on.
People wonder how the anti vaccination lobby has so much support, given the weakness of their arguments. I am not a supporter of the AVN in any way, but it is not surprising really.
How can doctors who say vaccines are safe be believed when doctors and medical researchers are continually being found to be very selective with the truth.
As the saying goes, a half truth is a lie.
Bacchus pics tf
Added 1.3.16: Scepticism of doctors' recommendations, whether diet or vaccination related, is just one example of the low level of public trust in administrators, the subject of an article in today's Canberra Times.
NAA Director-General David Fricker has recently spoken at the National Press Club on suppression of information. "There seems to be an accepted position that the general public must always resort to freedom of information legislation to obtain the information it needs.."
He also referenced former Department of PM&C Peter Shergold's recent review of government failing, which found there was a need to further improve access to information.
