Following the death of a diabetic woman who followed his advise to stop all Western medicine, Yun Sen Luo, a Sydney-based practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, has been found guilty of professional misbehaviour. Before the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal, the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCC) charged Luo; on 30 January, the tribunal found him guilty of unsatisfactory professional behaviour and professional misconduct.
The Victim Was Who?
Referred to as Person A, the 57-year-old Chinese national suffered type 2 diabetes. She had gone to Australia to live with her daughter Person B. Her first visit to Luo’s Burwood, Sydney, office was for psoriasis treatment, a skin disorder marked by a rash. But during her 26 May 2018 consultation, Luo allegedly neglected to get a proper medical background on her “high blood sugar” and advised her to stop all recommended Western drugs for diabetes. This helped to explain his claims of professional misbehavior.
As the woman's health deteriorated, how did Luo respond?
Examining WeChat communications sent between Luo and Person B, the tribunal found that Luo kept recommending soups, drinks, and fruit even as Person A’s health declined, conventional Chinese medicine therapies. Though Luo received texts outlining severe symptoms, he did not recognize the seriousness of the matter or counsel Person B to get immediate medical attention.
Person B told Luo by 30 May that her mother was continuously wanting to throw up and felt weak and disoriented. Person A had gotten so weak by June that she fell and could hardly speak. Luo nevertheless advised against medical intervention guided by a skilled practitioner. This underlined his professional transgression even further.
What happened on the day the woman died?
Person A lost breathing on June 8. Her daughter phoned emergency services right away, and she and her husband started CPR under operator direction until an ambulance arrived. Arriving to Hornsby Hospital at 1:49 PM, Person A was declared deceased at about 3:25 PM.
Person B later that evening sent Luo a last WeChat message stating, “Hello, doctor. You are not needed to visit over this evening.”
What conclusions the Tribunal came to?
According to the tribunal, Luo had directly violated the code of conduct of the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia by failing to apply fundamental ideas of risk reduction. Professionally negligent were his disregard of Person A’s worsening condition and his ongoing reliance just on conventional medicine. Professional misbehavior thus resulted in suspension of his registration on June 27, 2018.
Has Luo Criminally Charged?
Though Luo was found guilty of professional misbehavior, an 11-day criminal trial cleared him on manslaughter allegations. Judge John Pickering decided that in this instance Luo’s acts fell short of the legal threshold for criminal liability.
Regarding this case, what are professionals saying?
Convener of the Public Health Association’s complementary medicine special interest group, Prof Jon Wardle, underlined the need of combining conventional therapy with current medical knowledge. “Practitioners are free to employ traditional knowledge as a legitimate type of evidence in daily operations. Ignoring other reasonably known evidence is what they are not authorized to do,” he stated.
General practitioner Dr Mariam Tokhi underlined the need of confirming healthcare advice. She advised patients to see their GP before deciding on any treatment, but she also admitted that for those from other backgrounds, language obstacles and institutional challenges sometimes prevent access to mainstream healthcare.
What Next?
An upcoming hearing will let the tribunal decide on more protective orders against Luo. The case emphasizes the need of ethical practice in the supplementary medicine sector and acts as a clear warning about the dangers of rejecting accepted medical treatments.
