A FORMER MEMBER of the Medical Council has been accused of professional misconduct over numerous social media posts and public comments he made which were critical of Covid-19 measures and restrictions introduced by the Government and health authorities.

Marcus de Brun, who previously worked as a GP in Rush, Co Dublin, appeared before a fitness-to-practise hearing of the Medical Council on Tuesday where he faced allegations that his comments relating to public health guidelines, lockdowns, facemasks and vaccine programmes during the pandemic constituted professional misconduct.

Dr de Brun, who resigned from the Medical Council in April 2020 over what he claimed was the failure to protect nursing home residents, told the hearing that he had no choice but to raise concerns following the death of several of his patients in a nursing home.

The GP said their deaths and the subsequent anger and upset he felt was “a consequence of Government guidelines and inaction of the Medical Council.”

His comments were greeted with a sustained round of applause from a group of supporters who attended the public hearing.

A series of ten allegations of professional misconduct relating to criticism by Dr de Brun of public health guidelines during the pandemic, including dozens of tweets and retweets on his Twitter (now X) account between May 2020 and October 2021, were outlined by counsel for the Medical Council, Neasa Bird BL.

She told the fitness-to-practise committee that Dr de Brun knew or ought to have known that his comments and actions were inappropriate as well as undermining and not being in accordance with public health guidelines.

Ms Bird claimed some of the doctor’s behaviour was also contrary to sections of the Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics.

The allegations include that the GP described facemasks as “filthy,” “dirty” and “dangerous” when he spoke at a public rally opposing Covid-19 restrictions outside the Custom House in Dublin on August 22, 2020.

Dr de Brun was also accused of failing to maintain social distancing guidelines and failing to wear a facemask at the same event which was attended by up to 7,000 people.

Another allegation related to his repeated criticism of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) whose members he claimed were appointed on the basis of cronyism “rather than appropriate qualification or experience.”

Dr de Brun claimed that NPHET was “the biggest disaster ever to have befallen the State” and that it was not “fit for purpose” and “a clear and present danger to public health.”

He also accused the group of “making it up as they go along” and that NPHET “are the virus” as well as claiming “many more will die because of NPHET.”

The inquiry heard he described the plan to vaccinate children against Covid-19 as “unhinged rubbish” which would have “horrific, long-term consequences.”

He described the vaccination programme as “without question the greatest crime against humanity that this century has witnessed so far.”

In another tweet, he posted: “Vaccinated people are more likely to spread Covid than those with natural immunity. As a result, increased mortality is inevitable.”

He claimed in another post that, as a microbiologist, he could not administer the vaccine to a healthy animal “never mind a healthy human being.”

The GP also observed that lockdowns were “scientifically, morally and ethically wrong” and designed to only protect politicians.

Dr de Brun was also accused of professional misconduct for promoting the use of alternative treatments for Covid-19 including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.

He faced other allegations over his linking of the Covid-19 vaccination scheme with an increase in cancer cases as well as criticising the medical profession which he claimed was “fundamentally corrupt” and whose members were “bribed into silence.”

Ms Bird said the Medical Council were alerted to the various social media posts by members of the public.

The inquiry heard that Dr de Brun had 10,000 followers to his Twitter account at the start of the pandemic which had increased to 40,000 by September 2021.

Ms Bird noted that he was not disputing the contents of the various social media posts although he had acknowledged that Twitter was not a place for complex discussions.

While Dr de Brun had added a disclaimer to his Twitter bio that the views he expressed on the platform were personal and did not reflect those of a medical professional, she said it was very clear that he was a GP with views based on his knowledge, practice and stature as a doctor.

The inquiry heard that he had promised the then president of the Medical Council, Dr Rita Doyle, that he would delete his Twitter account after she had raised concerns with him about his comments in September 2020 but he had reactivated it again a few months later.

Ms Bird acknowledged that Dr de Brun had operated HSE guidelines within his own practice including the use of facemasks, social distancing and hand sanitiser, despite his personal views on Covid-19.

However, a report by an expert witness commissioned by the Medical Council noted that Dr de Brun was critical of “virtually every aspect of the State’s response to the pandemic.”

The report described the GP’s posts as “alarmist” and also disparaging of the medical profession.

At one stage the chairperson of the inquiry, Prof Deirdre Murphy, reminded attendants that they could be excluded from the hearing after a reaction from some members of the public to Ms Bird’s observation that it was “not an inquiry into Covid-19.”

In reply to the allegations, Dr de Brun claimed many of his social media posts were taken out of context and were an attempt to defame his character.

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“It is important to put things in perspective,” he remarked.

Dr de Brun outlined how he discovered in April 2020 that 7 or 8 patients had been transferred from hospital over a weekend without any consultation to a nursing home where he treated around 50 residents.

He recalled how he was told that the hospital patients had not been tested when he asked about their “Covid status” and to test them himself, even though there was no facility to do so.

Dr de Brun said ten patients in the nursing home subsequently died over the following weeks which was why he was angry and upset on social media.

He claimed they had died as a result of Government guidelines and the failure of the Medical Council to act on concerns he had raised with the Minister for Health.

Dr de Brun, who said he had an unblemished record over 23 years as a GP, said he had done his best to inform the Medical Council about what was happening.

However, he said he was not just ignored by the regulatory body but also placed under investigation.

At the outset of the hearing, Dr de Brun took issue with comments by the inquiry’s legal advisor, Ronan Kennedy SC, that he was not facing a criminal trial.

Dr de Brun, who is representing himself at the hearing, said the five-year wait for the inquiry and its effect on him and his family was “no different to a criminal trial or criminal investigation.”

In cross-examination, he asked Dr Doyle what she had done as president of the Medical Council in response to concerns he had raised in April 2020 about how “much suffering and many deaths could have been avoided.”

“Nothing…not publicly,” replied Dr Doyle.

She clarified that she would have advocated for improved care for all patients particularly residents in nursing homes but not specifically for those of Dr de Brun.

He accused Dr Doyle of “double standards” as she had also criticised NPHET on Twitter over a lack of patient representation on the group but was not facing an inquiry.

The hearing, which is expected to last four days, was adjourned and will resume on Wednesday morning.