Midwife Jan Scherp, of Sage Femme Midwives, was this morning
cleared of allegations of professional misconduct by the
Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal in Queenstown.
Tribunal deputy chairman David Carden found none of the five
particulars outlined in the charge under the Health
Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 were proven in
relation to the care Ms Scherp, of Central Otago, provided to
Queenstown mother Sara Gutzewtiz and her son Francis
(Frankie) between January 20, 2010 and February 7, 2010.
Ms Scherp's counsel, Anita Miller, sought permanent name
suppression for her client but Mr Carden denied the
application.
"The provisions for an order for suppression in the Health
Practitioners Competency Assurance Act requires the tribunal
to have regard to the interest of any persons and the public
interest . . . and it has discretion to do so.
"One of the principles is the impact that an order for
suppression of name may have on other health practitioners in
that profession.
"The tribunal concludes that there should be no order
prohibiting the publication of Ms Scherp's name."
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See tomorrow's ODT for full details of the tribunal's
decision
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