Chiropractors are again banned from giving spinal treatment to babies after health ministers demanded a regulator overturn their controversial decision.
Last week, the Chiropractic Board of Australia drew the ire of medical professionals and politicians after it decided to once again allow chiropractors to use spinal manipulation on children under two years of age.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler demanded an urgent explanation from the board and raised the issue with health ministers at a meeting on Friday.
Chiropractors are again banned from giving spinal treatment to babies after health ministers demanded a regulator overturn their controversial decision (file image)
The board confirmed on Monday it would reinstate an interim policy banning the practice after a request from the meeting of health ministers.
The policy would be in place until further consultation with health ministers allowed a final decision to be made, the board said.
“While there has been no evidence of serious harm to babies from chiropractic care in Australia, the board’s role is, first and foremost, to protect the public,” board chair Wayne Minter said.
“We look forward to working with ministers to develop a final evidence-based policy on pediatric care that balances the overriding need to protect patients with the right of parents and other patients to have a say in the care they choose.”
The board banned the practice in 2019 while it gathered evidence on its safety and effectiveness.
It subsequently commissioned Cochrane Australia to review spinal manipulation in children under 12 years of age and published updated guidelines in November 2023, allowing chiropractors to treat children in accordance with evidence or best practice approaches.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler demanded an urgent explanation from the board and raised the issue with health ministers at a meeting on Friday.
“The board will consider its obligations under national law and any future decisions by health ministers when developing a final position,” the board said in a statement.
Medical bodies opposed the move to allow babies to undergo chiropractic spinal treatment as two reviews found there was no evidence to support the practice.
The children have needed medical attention after some treatments, including one who had a spinal fracture.
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners vice-president Michael Clements said while alternative therapies have a role in treating certain conditions, they do not for babies.
“The idea that children now have to undergo spinal manipulation… is quite frightening,” he said.
The Chiropractic Board of Australia said it expected chiropractors who did not have the clinical skills and knowledge to treat pediatric patients to refer them to another doctor or co-manage the patient with them.