Pattern of some parents' complaints against doctors must be recognised

doi:10.1136/bmj.324.7341.852

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R A Smith, consultant paediatrician,
D W Beverley, consultant paediatrician,
R J Ball, consultant paediatrician

York District Hospital, York YO3 7HE

EDITOR—The cosignatories to Marcovitch's letter are not the only paediatricians who have been referred to the General Medical Council by parents of children with alleged fabricated illness (Munchausen's syndrome by proxy).1 In our department two of five consultants have been referred in similar circumstances. In both cases allegations against the doctors were unsubstantiated.

This abuse of complaints processes needs to …