BMJ  2006;332:747 (1 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7544.747-c

News

GMC finds three doctors guilty of irresponsible prescribing to addicts

Owen Dyer

London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The founder of one of the United Kingdom's best known private drug addiction clinics has been found guilty by the General Medical Council of irresponsible prescribing practices that could have fed dangerous drugs into the black market.

Colin Brewer, the retired head of the Stapleford Centre, was found guilty of irresponsible prescribing along with two of his former colleagues, Dr Hugh Kindness and Dr Ronald Tovey. Four other doctors from the centre were cleared of misconduct—Anthony Haines, Nicolette Mervitz, Martin O'Rawe, and Timothy Willocks.

The Stapleford hearing has been the biggest case in the GMC's history, taking up 114 days of hearings. It began in February 2004 and was prolonged by a lengthy adjournment due to Dr Brewer's ill health (BMJ 2004;329: 818[Free Full Text]).

Dr Brewer was the focus of many of the charges. He founded the Stapleford Centre at the Home Office's request in 1987. . . . [Full text of this article]


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