An unvaccinated GP who refused to wear a face mask at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic is fighting her dismissal from a doctor’s surgery.

Angela Musso, 46, worked at a surgery in Suffolk for two days before being dismissed for not wearing a face mask when seeing patients.

During that time multiple patients complained that she told them to remove their masks while keeping windows closed during appointments.

Dr Musso is now taking the practice at Cutlers Hill, Halesworth to an employment tribunal, arguing that her dismissal was discriminatory.

She claims she was unable to wear a mask at the surgery where she worked in April 2021 due to anxiety following an accident but said this was none of the practice’s business.

'Government-mandated muzzle': Angela Musso, 46, said she was unable to wear a mask in the GP surgery where she worked because of anxiety after an accident

'Government-mandated muzzle': Angela Musso, 46, said she was unable to wear a mask in the GP surgery where she worked because of anxiety after an accident

‘Government-mandated muzzle’: Angela Musso, 46, said she was unable to wear a mask in the GP surgery where she worked because of anxiety after an accident

‘It was so stressful so I am taking them to court,’ Dr Musso said.

‘I don’t know how they can bully me like this, as a doctor they should understand.’ 

Dr Musso has since started a career as a model as well as working in ‘holistic medicine’.

She said on her website: ‘During my court cases where I represent myself, I decided to change my career.

‘Here I am trying new things where I can be positive and be myself, in peace and in good faith.’ 

The doctor is going to an employment tribunal to fight her dismissal so she can 'tell her story'

The doctor is going to an employment tribunal to fight her dismissal so she can 'tell her story'

She has previously worked as a doctor in New Zealand and Australia

She has previously worked as a doctor in New Zealand and Australia

Dr Musso has since started a career as a fashion model as well as in ‘holistic medicine’ saying she is ‘trying new things’

Dr Musso hopes that by going to court she will be able to ‘tell her story’ after growing ‘tired of being bullied’.  

In response to patients’ complaints, she said: ‘I am a doctor and took an oath to do no harm.

‘There was a pregnant woman who could not breathe so I told her to take off her mask. It is up to the patient what they decide to do with their masks.’

Dr Musso’s social media includes a picture of her wearing a mask with the slogan ‘government-mandated muzzle’.

There is also a video in which she said she had discouraged patients from having the Covid-19 vaccine because of potential side effects.

She refused to get vaccinated for Covid-19 due to her suspicions over the speed at which it was made but has been fully vaccinated against other diseases.

However no safety standards were missed when creating the Covid-19 vaccines, and the UK vaccines were signed off by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Dr Musso refused to receive her Covid vaccine saying 'there's not enough evidence' that the vaccines stop the spread of the disease. She made a video also discouraging patients from getting the vaccine

Dr Musso refused to receive her Covid vaccine saying 'there's not enough evidence' that the vaccines stop the spread of the disease. She made a video also discouraging patients from getting the vaccine

Dr Musso refused to receive her Covid vaccine saying ‘there’s not enough evidence’ that the vaccines stop the spread of the disease. She made a video also discouraging patients from getting the vaccine

When questioned as to whether she thought it would harm her patients to have a GP who was not vaccinated, she said: ‘There’s not enough evidence that being vaccinated stops the spread of Covid-19.’

According to a fact-checking website, though all Covid-19 vaccines’ effectiveness wanes over time, they can be up to 95 per cent effective at preventing infection in people over 16.

She added: ‘I have more than 20 years of experience and have worked as a GP in New Zealand and Australia but I now call Norwich my second home.

‘I became a GP because I want to help people.’

Separate claims against the practice, namely that she was directly discriminated against, harassed and victimised, have been struck out.

Employment judge Liz Ord ruled that these claims had ‘no realistic prospect’ of succeeding.

The tribunal will be heard on Monday, November 28.

Dr Musso was dismissed from Cutlers Hill Surgery in Halesworth where she worked in April 2021

Dr Musso was dismissed from Cutlers Hill Surgery in Halesworth where she worked in April 2021

Dr Musso was dismissed from Cutlers Hill Surgery in Halesworth where she worked in April 2021

WHAT HAVE STUDIES SHOWN ABOUT FACE MASKS AND COVID?

Research on how well various types of masks and face coverings protect against coronavirus has varied but experts and politicians have generally leaned towards the idea that the chance of some protection is better than none.

In the UK, face coverings were first made mandatory in for public transport in June and later for shops and other indoor spaces in July. 

Here’s what studies have shown so far about whether masks work: 

FACE MASKS LOWER VIRUS R RATE (JANUARY 2021)

Researchers at Boston University in the US found wearing face masks is an effective way to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The study, published in the journal Lancet Digital Health, found a 10 per cent rise in self-reported mask wearing is associated with a three-fold increase in the odds of keeping the R number – the number of others each person with coronavirus infects – below 1.

Co-author of the study Ben Rader, of Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston University, said: ‘An important finding of this research is that mask wearing is not a replacement for physical distancing.’ 

INFECTIOUS DROPLETS WILL STILL SLIP THROUGH (DECEMBER 2020)

Scientists at New Mexico State University in the US found wearing a cloth mask may not shield the user totally from coronavirus because infected droplets can slip through, but it would significantly reduce how many.

‘Wearing a mask will offer substantial, but not complete, protection to a susceptible person,’ said Dr Krishna Kota, an associate professor at the university who led the research.

The study found while all masks blocked at least 95 per cent of droplets from coughs and sneezes – there was still a risk of the disease being passed on.

A MASK ‘WILL ALWAYS BE BETTER THAN NOTHING’ (DECEMBER 2020)

Research by the University of Massachusetts Lowell and California Baptist University in the US found wearing a used three-layer surgical mask can reduce the number of small droplets that are released into the air by two thirds.

Co-author Dr Jinxiang Xi said: ‘It is natural to think that wearing a mask, no matter new or old, should always be better than nothing.

‘Our results show that this belief is only true for particles larger than five micrometers, but not for fine particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers.’ 

MASK-WEARERS EQUALLY LIKELY TO CATCH VIRUS (NOVEMBER 2020)

A study by Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark suggested face masks may only offer the wearer limited protection against Covid infection.

Researchers found there was no statistically significant difference in the number of people who contacted the virus in a group wearing masks in public compared to a group that did not do so.

The study was carried out in April and May when Danish authorities did not recommend wearing face coverings. 

MASK LEADS TO THOUSANDS FEWER COUGH DROPLETS (AUGUST 2020)

Research by Edinburgh University in Scotland suggested cloth face masks are effective at reducing the amount of droplets spread by coughing or sneezing.

The findings suggest a person standing two metres from someone coughing without a mask is exposed to 10,000 times more droplets than from someone standing half a metre away wearing a basic single layer mask. 

Professor Paul Digard, of the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, said: ‘The simple message from our research is that face masks work.

‘Wearing a face covering will reduce the probability that someone unknowingly infected with the virus will pass it on.’

N95 MEDICAL MASKS COULD PREVENT 99% OF SPREAD (AUGUST 2020)

A study by Duke University in North Carolina, US, found N95 masks are the most effective masks at reducing the spread of Covid-19.

The research published in the journal Science Advances, studied 14 types of face coverings.

Co-author Dr Eric Westman said: ‘If everyone wore a mask, we could stop up to 99 percent of these droplets before they reach someone else.

‘In the absence of a vaccine or antiviral medicine, it’s the one proven way to protect others as well as yourself.’ 

SURGICAL COVERINGS JUST AS GOOD AS N95 MASKS (MARCH 2020)

A University of Oxford study published on March 30 last year concluded that surgical face masks are just as effective at preventing respiratory infections as N95 respirators for doctors, nurses and other health care workers. 

N95 respirators are made of thick, tightly woven and moulded material that fits tightly over the face and can stop 95 percent of all airborne particles, while surgical masks are thinner, fit more loosely, and more porous.

The Oxford analysis of past studies – which has not yet been peer reviewed – found that surgical masks were worth wearing but any face mask is only as good as other health and hygiene practices.

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