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NEWS: Clare Dyer Southall loses appeal against being struck off BMJ 2009; 338: b2144 [Full text]

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Immunising paediatricians against prosecution

Mark Struthers   (2 June 2009)

Immunising paediatricians against prosecution 2 June 2009
Mark Struthers, GP Bedfordshire Send response to journal: Re: Immunising paediatricians against prosecution	Dr Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet, is concerned about conflicting messages being sent to child protecting doctors in the light of the new review into the death of Baby Peter and the failure of David Southall’s appeal to the High Court. On 22 May, the day the second review into the death of Baby Peter was released, Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools, and Families, said that “all professionals involved in child protection should act to put the child first and not be deceived by parents”. It is certainly a striking irony that on this very same day 22 May, Dr David Southall was finally struck from the register “for doing just that”, according to Richard Horton. [1] What are child protecting professionals supposed to do about these conflicting signals? Dr Horton tells us that “child protection in the UK and Ireland is a disastrous mess and it is clear that no amount of reflex retribution, retraining, and tinkering around the edges will be enough to fix it”. So, what will fix it, Dr Horton? After a period of quiet reflection, Dr Horton proposes that these conflicted doctors be placed above the law – for the good of the children. In a reflective interview on Radio 4’s ‘Today’ program (Friday 29 May) [2], Richard Horton noted the perception - but not the reality - that the GMC is very adverse to paediatricians in child protection work. He goes on to say, “And that’s the worry: the perception is so strong that both the courts and medical regulation are not doing their best to protect children; they’re doing their best to attack doctors. What we need, I think, is a system where doctors, who in good faith have concerns about child safety issues, are immune from prosecution and being struck off the register. If we don’t have that immunity then children will not get the best protection in society that we need them to have today." [1] Editorial. Urgent: a UK Commission on Child Protection. The Lancet, Volume 373, Issue 9678, Page 1819, 30 May 2009. http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)61000- X/fulltext [2] Listen again at 08.35 am to Dr Richard Horton and Professor John Wyatt. http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8073000/8073134.stm Competing interests: None declared