Aparna Srivastava raised eyebrows for her baffling medical advice
NHS dietician Aparna Srivastava’s role is under review after she prescribed yoga for a 91-year-old Parkinson’s sufferer
A Hull-based NHS dietitian’s position is being reviewed following her prescription of yoga for a 91 year old Parkinson’s patient, promotion of the health advantages of listening to Classic FM, and recommendation that patients chew each bite of food 32 times. Aparna Srivastava attracted attention for her puzzling medical guidance and even instructed one patient to consume a specific type of biscuit from Lidl. Ms Srivastava remained in her temporary position at an NHS healthcare practice in Hull, East Yorkshire, for four months before peculiar emails sent to a colleague sparked concerns regarding her suitability to treat patients.
Her emails asserted that consuming a whole lime in warm water is ‘1,000 times’ more effective as a cancer treatment than chemotherapy, and three spoonfuls of virgin coconut oil each morning could prevent cancer. Her case was brought before the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS) who imposed a two-year conditions of practice order ‘focused on further training and supervision’.
When that order expired, she was suspended for six months and has today been suspended for an additional six months whilst her position remains under review. The panel was informed that during her brief period at the NHS practice, Miss Srivastava recommended to Patient A, without offering adequate clinical justification, to take apple cider vinegar, but exclusively the particular brands Bragg or Aspall.
The patient was also counselled to consume eight glasses of lukewarm water daily and to chew each bite of food 32 times before swallowing. The 91 year old cancer sufferer was advised to try Sahaja Yoga, a practice established by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi in 1970 with the goal of achieving ‘thoughtless awareness and self-realisation by awakening inner Kundalini energy’. She further suggested he try root vegetables, drink lemon ginger juice, Manuka honey and black pepper in hot water in the morning, consume kefir daily and use the grated peel of unwaxed lemons to eliminate a bad taste in his mouth.
The panel concluded: ‘The Registrant believed that this patient was capable, with the help of family and technology, to undertake this form of yoga without the necessity to travel far for an instructor-led class… there was actually no information in the notes that would allow a fellow clinician to comprehend what and why this recommendation had been made for this specific patient.’
NHS dietician Aparna Srivastava’s role is under review after she prescribed yoga for a 91-year-old Parkinson’s sufferer
In another patient’s case, she recommended ‘drink warm water upon waking, and before meals’ and ‘listen to Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia flute music’. She explained to the panel that she suggested the Chaurasia as a method of reducing stress, the same reason she prescribed Classic FM to another patient first thing at night and last thing in the evening.
The HCPTS panel determined: ‘The Panel considered specifically recommending Classic FM (without explanation or clinical reasoning), did fall below the standards but it was not so serious as to constitute misconduct because, not least, it carried no clear risk of patient harm.
‘It found the statutory ground of lack of competence made out. This was another example of the Registrant providing nonstandard advice, with no explanation or clinical reasoning around it.’ Ms Srivastava was additionally found to have suggested pearl barley, which contains gluten, to a patient with coeliac disease – the chronic autoimmune disorder where consuming gluten can trigger the immune system to attack the small intestine’s lining.
She was also discovered to have advised fizzy drinks to patients with conditions inappropriate for processing them. Her period as Locum Dietitian with the East Riding Community Dietitian team at City Health Care Partnership concluded in February 2018 when she sent an email to another team member, referred to as Colleague C. In the email, she claimed that cancer cannot spread without sugar and will perish naturally without it.
She suggested that consuming a whole lime in warm water is 1,000 times more potent than chemotherapy and ingesting three spoonfuls of organic or virgin coconut oil early in the morning can prevent cancer. A concerned colleague reported her to superiors, prompting an investigation. Ms Srivastava defended herself by stating she was merely highlighting poor advice regarding cancer treatment that she had received from a third party. This explanation was dismissed by the practice.
The HCPTS determined: ‘The content of the WhatsApp message was acknowledged by the Registrant as being ill-advised. She informed the Panel that she had discussed with Colleague C her concerns about this misleading advice on cancer treatment being disseminated among patients. It was these worries that prompted her to forward the WhatsApp message to Colleague C.
‘The Panel heard from Colleague C that she did not interpret the WhatsApp message in this way and could not recall any prior conversation with the Registrant on this subject. She perceived the WhatsApp message as the Registrant endorsing others to follow this dietary advice for treating cancer.’