An award-winning Southern Trust midwife who, during the height of Covid pandemic, told a pregnant shop assistant she should not be wearing a face mask as it would reduce the amount of oxygen her baby was receiving, has been suspended for 12 months.
Seana Kerr also told the woman, in what was deemed an “unsolicited” approach, that she should not receive a flu vaccination as this would increase the risk of her baby being stillborn.
Furthermore, during a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) fitness to practice hearing earlier this month, the panel heard how Kerr, between September 27, 2020 and December 19, 2021, posted on social media claiming “babies were being attacked in the womb through vaccination of mothers during pregnancy” and that “the current health crisis was a Trojan horse intended to introduce a new era for humanity”.
In December 2021 she posted that “they” had been “planting the seeds” about Covid-19 by referring to “some bat in China”, all the while identifying herself as a midwife.
Kerr failed to attend the NMC hearing and it was noted that she had not engaged with the NMC since June 2022 and had not responded to any of the letters sent to her about the hearing.
The panel heard that in October 2020 concerns were raised to the Trust about alleged posts Kerr made on social media, in which she identified herself as a midwife, and expressed views which suggested that vaccinations given to pregnant women could cause harm to unborn babies.
It was further alleged she expressed negative comments about the national response to Covid-19, and suggested that healthcare professionals were complicit in this response. The Southern Trust then launched an investigation.
Subsequently, in November 2020, a complaint was received that Kerr gave unsolicited advice to a pregnant woman who was working in a shop where Kerr was a customer.
When the pregnant woman attended the Trust for intrapartum care she disclosed to the midwife who was providing her care at that time details of the conversation with Kerr.
It was noted that the patient was “exceptionally concerned about how to do the best for her unborn baby” and that she “experienced increased anxiety which continued after the encounter”.
The midwife told the couple she would escalate these concerns and did do so. Subsequent to this, the pregnant woman’s partner made a complaint to the Trust about what he considered to be Kerr’s unprofessional approach.
During the investigation further allegations arose in connection with videos and posts Kerr made online about Covid-19 theories and the effectiveness of vaccinations.
The panel noted that the transcript of a Facebook post by ‘Seana Kerr’ dated September 27, 2020 stating: “I am not proud that babies are still being attacked in the womb through vaccination of mothers during pregnancy and I am not proud that when babies die in the womb that the coroner in this country is not asking the question was this mother vaccinated.”
There were further videos of Kerr “expressing views on social media that were against clinical advice during a national health crisis”.
It was submitted that there was a likelihood that Kerr’s comments “implicating other medical professionals in causing harm would have caused harm and distress to her colleagues and have undermined the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic”.
The panel acknowledged Kerr’s right to freedom of expression, however, her advice and social media comments were given when she identified herself as a midwife, promoting her opinion on matters of clinical importance.
In suspending Kerr for 12 months, the panel took into consideration how the first-time mother she approached in the shop was in “an extremely vulnerable position”, as well as Kerr’s failure to fully engage with the hearing.
It was further noted that she had not shown any remorse for her actions.
The panel referenced the hardship the suspension will inevitably cause Kerr, however, “this is outweighed by the public interest in this case”.
In a social media video post earlier this week, Kerr described the process as a “witch hunt” and an effort “quieten or gaslight me”.
She added: “I do not deny any of it, in fact, I stand over every word I said.”
