Religious doctor suspended for preaching to sick patients
A Sydney psychiatrist has been slammed by an industry authority and disqualified from practice for preaching overt religious messages to sick patients.
Dr Alex Sharah has been suspended for two years following a series of incidents in which he offered “God’s will” as a cure to patients suffering everything from alcoholism to postnatal depression and mental health illnesses.
The Civil Administrative Tribunal issued its verdict in a hearing yesterday where it was reasoned the 80-year-old was more concerned with promoting his faith than delivering medical treatments.
One patient during the hearing recalled an incident in which Mr Sharah compared her lesbian friend to a sex offender.
The patient, who was not named, had allegedly told Mr Sharah that her friend had started praying to which he said, “it's the same as paedophiles, they don't know they are doing something wrong so we still have to love them”.
The disqualified psychiatrist told the hearing he could not recall the conversation but “may of said it”.
He admitted to other instances in which he had given patients religious crosses and encouraged them to use holy water to fix ailments.
Morning news break – September 24
