Chiropractor struck off for 'novel' treatments

A tribunal has cancelled the registration of a chiropractor who provided $44,000 of unproven treatments including hyperbaric oxygen to a patient with cerebral palsy.

In a decision delivered on Friday the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal also disqualified Malcolm Hooper from reapplying for registration as a chiropractor for two years and ordered him to pay costs for the Chiropractic Board of Australia.

Essendon players also received hyperbaric treatment at Mr Hooper's South Yarra clinic, with the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority uncovering a bill he sent to the club late last year for more than $50,000.

In June Mr Hooper was found guilty of three counts of professional misconduct and five counts of unprofessional conduct related to his treatment of a patient with cerebral palsy.

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Mr Hooper provided 269 hours of hyperbaric oxygen to the patient between August 2007 and May 2008 and 79 hours of treatment on a treadmill-like device that supposedly helps the body relearn how to walk.

In its decision on Friday the tribunal said Mr Hooper misrepresented the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen and treadmill treatments, believing them a panacea for more than 30 conditions including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and infertility. It said Mr Hooper had failed to acknowledge errors in his treatment of the patient including ''failing to make proper assessments, prepare treatment plans, modify treatment plans or monitor outcomes''.

''In our view, anything less than cancellation is likely to see a repetition of the events that brought about this proceeding and as a consequence the public would be endangered.''

The tribunal noted that it was not necessary to be a registered chiropractor to administer hyperbaric oxygen treatments but accepted an undertaking by Mr Hooper to provide certain information to prospective patients or their parents or guardians.

The information included statements that the treatment for a range of conditions was ''novel'' and the consensus of expert medical opinion was that it provided little or no benefit.

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Chiropractor struck off for 'novel' treatments