A Melbourne GP who uses homeopathy and has been treating hundreds of people for controversial condition Lyme disease is fighting for his medical licence after it was alleged he was a risk to patients.
Dr Geoff Kemp, a Camberwell GP for more than 40 years, has been given six weeks to find a doctor who will supervise his work or he may no longer be able to practise.
In September 2015 the Medical Board of Australia imposed conditions on Dr Kemp’s licence after a complaint was made about his treatment of a patient he had diagnosed with Lyme disease. The Board indicated that it eventually wished to suspend his licence.
In an interview with Fairfax Media, Dr Kemp said he was being attacked by health authorities who were “anti-Lyme disease” and wanted to shut down doctors who recognise the condition.
The GP claims up to 2 million Australians suffered from what he termed “multi-system infectious disease syndrome”.
Dr Kemp also alleged “information-carrying electronic waves” including FM radio were toxic and had an impact on immune system function.
He said Lyme disease might be behind the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, as well as increasing road rage on Melbourne’s streets.
“They [health authorities] want to make examples of us so that other doctors would be deterred from diagnosing and treating this condition,” said Dr Kemp. “They are pursuing an agenda which is medico-political and has nothing to do with the protection of the public.”
A spokeswoman for the Medical Board said in a statement: “The Medical Board of Australia has the power to take ‘immediate action’ to restrict a doctor’s registration as an interim step to keep the public safe pending other inquiries, when it believes there is a serious risk to public health and safety that needs to be managed.”
However the board eventually decided not to suspend him, but instead imposed several conditions on his licence, including a ban on using homeopathy.
He was also required to work in a group practice. In response, Dr Kemp asked the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to allow him to practise solo for six weeks while he found a new clinic to work with. The Medical Board opposed that application on public safety grounds, but it was eventually granted.
Lyme disease is recognised by health authorities in the US as a tick-spread bacterial illness with a range of symptoms including chronic fatigue and joint pain. But while it is well-established and studied in America and Europe, authorities in Australia do not believe it is present here.
Dr Kemp claims the disease and others like it can be spread by species as diverse as snakes, birds, bed bugs, biting flies, mites and bird mites. Symptoms he claims to have seen include chronic tiredness, trouble with memory, balance, emotional control, autism and psychosis.
Dr Kemp said he had diagnosed more than 400 people with the disease and that he treats them with intravenous antibiotics. He says no one else in Victoria is diagnosing and treating the illness, with only a handful of doctors doing so in other states.