Francesca Villette
THE committee deciding whether Tim Noakes should have his licence revoked as a medical doctor, yesterday heard that one of its members who decided that he be charged with professional misconduct had previously publicly criticised Noakes’ Banting lifestyle.
Noakes’ representative, advocate Michael van der Nest, put it to procedural witness Nkagiseng Medupe that in 2012 the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) warned – in a press release compiled by Professor Edelweiss Wentzel-Viljoen – against following a high-protein, high-fat and low-carbohydrate diet.
Van der Nest said Wentzel-Viljoen had been on the preliminary committee that had considered the complaint against Noakes and that this “therefore was conflict of interest”.
Medupe, a legal officer at the HPCSA, said he had not sat on the preliminary committee. Noakes was called to the hearing after he had advised Pippa Leenstra on Twitter to wean her newborn onto a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet.
Van der Nest asked Medupe whether Noakes had been asked to respond to former Nutrition Society of SA chairperson Professor Esté Vorster’s findings into Noakes’ conduct as it had sought her expert advice before it decided to charge Noakes. “Do you agree Prof Noakes did not have the opportunity to respond to the report by Prof Vorster?” Van der Nest asked.
“The process does not call for him to respond to that,” Medupe answered.” The case has been postponed to February 8.
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