Commission reviews six cases of parents convicted of killing their children
BMJ 2004; 330 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.330.7481.10-b (Published 30 December 2004) Cite this as: BMJ 2004;330:10All rapid responses
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"What is objectionable, what is dangerous, about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents." -Robert Kennedy
Competing interests: None declared
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Does it substantially change the point whether Ms Mellor would rather have ten or forty guilty parents go free rather than see one parent falsely accused? Not really, that is still more than ten siblings at least killed.
Ms Lohr is completely missing my point when she says Ms Mellor is upholding childrens' rights by campaigning for parents' rights.
There is a famous quote that extremists are defined not by their views but how they treat their opponents. By this criterion many pro-MSbP campaigners are extremists by the character assassinations of their opponents and acts of harassment and intimidation against doctors that have been reported.
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Heather Lohr and Michael Innis are perfectly correct in what they say. I can also point to "numerous" cases of misdiagnosis of MSBP.
My son went to the Lord in 2000 and can understand exactly how Heather Lohr feels on this subject of false allegations, misdiagnosis. This results in further negligence for the family in mistreating and ignoring patient's.
As my son had a known syndrome, the failed to diagnose endocarditis (despite me pointing to the diagnosis), stroke and then congestive heart failure in a child with severe congenital heart disease. My son's death was inevitable but to behave in the manner which they did unforgiveable.
Yet these doctors are able to get away with it time and time again because of flawed experts and Inquests.
Unfortuantely, these allegations are far too common in children with multiple disabilities.
I was being "profiled" for MSBP being knowledeable about my son's condition, being a medical secretary, come from a family of doctors AND having the same medical condition as my son albeit at a very different end of the spectrum.
The potential accusing paediatrician has now left said hospital (thank goodness) and I feel I am able to move on but my son never had the benefit of treatment DESPITE all our family stating "congestive heart failure" several times.
Though I was never accused formerly, retrospectively there was a pattern of behaviour from the paediatricians concerned that indicated this potential diagnosis. Whilst my family had heard of MSBP, they have described potential diagnosis as "barking up the wrong tree". Certainly had I known what I know now, I would have been more fully aware of what does go on in certain hospitals. Because otherwise why ignore said patient on a number of occasions and fail to give an ECG, Chest X-ray etc?
It has taken a long time to get trust back into the medical profession.
Competing interests: None declared
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Michael D Innis refers to MSBP as Misadiagnosed Symptoms by Physicians which couldn't be more correct.
I would like to say to Dr Rumbold, Doctors are getting their diagnoses wrong all the time, which starts off a chain of events which lead to police and social workers putting on the Munchausen by Proxy specs which in turn leads to them jumping to conclusions and also making mistakes.
My son was at 13 deemed failure to thrive and had night feeds on a nasel gastric tube. He had been very ill with doctors unable to pin point the problem. A restricted diet had helped but was low on calories. I was accused of MSBP and both children were put on 'At Risk Register' while a full Risk Assessment was carried out and I was sent for a Psychiatric assessment. Eventually Lisa Blakemore-Brown found in adoption notes a link to MMR damage outlined by foster carer. He went for testing with Paul Shattock who found the gastrointrological link with his Asperger Syndrome often seen in vaccine damage. A case of Misdiagnoses.
My son who also has Cerebral Palsy has always enjoyed swimming and swam competitvely. However Social Services accused me of abusing him by putting him into Disability Sport and accused me of doing this in a bid to keep him thin whilst giving him the false expectation of one day swimming for GB. Apparantly they felt his disability was not Cerebral Palsy and not severe enough to make him eligable, I like labels and this is a label I gave him.Adoption records had never been read and this was a child who I had adopted him with suspected CP which was confirmed within 6months of him being placed with me.
My son swims in Connecticut USA for GB in July this year for Cerebral Palsy Sport England in the World Championships despite Social Services Five Years ago doing their upmost to make him give up. Nine experts in Cerebral Palsy profiled him for the team I think if he did not have it one of these may have noticed. These included Doctors, Physiothrapits.My child nearly gave up his swimming as he said Social Services had made him feel he did not deserve his trophies and medals.
This is very very wrong and this is what Dr Rumbold calls Child Protection.
This family has gone through hell and I am never allowed to work with children again as I have been suspected of abuse.
Competing interests: A mother of two Autistic Children accused of MSBP
Competing interests: No competing interests
I hope Dr Rumbold will take the time to watch our story soon to be shown in a documentary he might then have an idea just how much pain is caused to a family who have been wrongfully accused. Not only have you lost your child but you lose the right to grieve your child, Does Dr Rumbold condone the action of arresting a parent while their child is on life support taking away precious moments that should be spent by their childs bedside. A thorough investigation should be done before any arrest is made this should include Medical history, Family Tree, microbiology results,etc. Is it right to put these cases before a jury who have no medical knowledge or be a platform for medical experts to argue their theories. I hope there is a public enquiry so this never happens again.
Competing interests: Patrner of wrongfully accused
Competing interests: No competing interests
Editor,
“It is naive to claim any system of child protection can be 100% accurate,” says Dr Rumbold in response to the very real concerns of Penny Mellor, Heather Lohr and numerous others When the so-called “child protection” service gets it wrong almost 100% of the time the concerns of the community are justifiably brought to the attention of the world.
MSBP – Misdiagnosed Symptoms By Physicians.
I can produce at least two dozen misdiagnoses. Some of the victims charged with murder others with manslaughter. Ignorance of the Clinical and Radiological features of Rickets and Barlow’s disease … ignorance of Kawasaki disease and of Congenital Toxoplasmosis are the chief causes of misdiagnoses in England, America and Australia.
Michael D Innis FRCPA; FRCPath.
Competing interests: I have given evidence as an Expert witness in cases in America, England and Australia
Competing interests: No competing interests
"Mellor and Lohr obviously have a nostalgia for the times when it was assumed that parents always had their childrens' best interests at heart (which therefore presupposes child abuse does not exist). Their attitude (borne out from the MAMA board) is: Parents tell the truth; Doctors lie. How can the parents that abuse their children be the advocates for their health and safety though Ms Lohr?" writes Dr. Rumbold.
That's certainly frightening. Living in a world where it can no longer be assumed that parents have their children's best interest at heart. It'd be interesting to hear what parents have to say about that.
Allow me to clarify for you, Dr. Rumbold, and any others who may have read beyond my rapid response and perhaps jumped on a campaign wagon of their own. I have never assumed that ALL parents have their children's best interests at heart. I have never claimed that child abuse does not exist. And as far as nostalgia goes, I perhaps have a nostalgia for the times when doctors actively sought history, reviewed previous records and ruled out other possiblities before pointing the finger. You know, that time before medical malpractice insurance rates led to doctors refusing to treat lawyers, hospitals turning sick away, etc. etc.
To further clarify, I AM NOT A MEMBER of MAMA nor does my own opinion come from the MAMA board. My major interest lies in shaken baby syndrome. You are quick to judge me and if I may make a point in saying this, you have judged me wrongly.
My specific problem is with the lack of concern that any parent or caregiver might be falsely accused, therefore may be wrongfully imprisioned or worse yet, put to death, by doctors pointing fingers in a area in which there is much to be decided, is currently debated and questioned. I have simply asked for those who work with children to research all sides of the debate. I do not criticize on a whim. I have very painful, personal experience in false accusations. I am also concerned about families being destroyed. You can never imagine the emotional destruction a false accusation can do to a sibling.
Unfortunately, the current belief in SBS is that a parent is lying if the history doesn't fit the symptoms according to the rules created by opinion. Research is questioning those opinions. But the medical community is choosing opinion over research. Funding is continually given for opinion-biased reports and very little is given for real research which tries to simulate and investigate. Computer-generated video is being used to convict parents in courts of law. One has to wonder why the only available images had to be created by graphic artists on a computer. Where are the real images? They do exist. I've seen them. I've got one video saved on my computer now. Why don't they show it? I suspect because they would then be obigated to show this child doing the rounds on the morning talks shows and would then have to explain how this child showed no evidence of symptoms supposedly caused by shaking.
Again, any parents who might read this, please pay constant heed to your child's health and growth, especially head circumference. If you think something is wrong, don't let it go. Maybe better advice would be to never, ever be alone with your child. Always have an unrelated, independent witness nearby.
Dr. Rumbold, I invite you to review my responses over the past year to see what I am about and from where my views come from. Or e-mail me (attaboof@yahoo.com) if you would like to discuss my views personally. I walk down my own road, I choose which way I go. I am a personal campaigner for commonsense and for funding for continued useful research, not the current opinion-based reports we see. I know what it's like to be on the other end of this issue. I've had doctors say to me "how dare you question me. I am an expert in my field." I've seen doctors refuse to look at previous medical records while pointing the finger at my family. I've a right to ask questions. Any parent who is concerned about their child's health and safety would. Please do not portray me as a whacked-out activist. You do not know me and the responses I post come from a very painful tragedy in my family's life.
Competing interests: previously stated
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Dr Rumbold you are incorrect, what I have said in the past is that I would rather ten guilty people walked free than see one innocent person jailed. I would remind everyone what Lord Deputy Chief Justice Judge said in the Cannings judgement:
"In expressing ourselves in this way we recognise that justice may not be done in a small number of cases where in truth a mother has deliberately killed her baby without leaving any identifiable evidence of the crime. That is an undesirable result, which however avoids a worse one. If murder cannot be proved, the conviction cannot be safe. In a criminal case, it is simply not enough to be able to establish even a high probability of guilt. Unless we are sure of guilt the dreadful possibility always remains that a mother, already brutally scarred by the unexplained death or deaths of her babies, may find herself in prison for life for killing them when she should not be there at all. In our community, and in any civilised community, that is abhorrent." [1}
I am not a pro MSbP supporter I am an ANTI MSbP campaigner.
Unfortunately when it comes to allegations of MSbP/SIDS murders or Shaken Baby Syndrome, there has been very little concrete evidence to support the allegations and much rhetoric from the "eminent experts". This is unlike other forms of child abuse where there is clear cut evidence of abuse; the child pornographer caught with indecent photographs of children on his/her computer, to which nobody else has access, has been caught red handed with the evidence to support the allegation, hardly the same as "the mother was alone with the baby when it died, so she must have killed it" or "the baby had blood trickling from its nose so the father must have smothered it".
John Rumbold is mistaken if he thinks for one moment this isn't about the protection of children; to wrongfully accuse or convict a parent of something they didn't do, devastates the surviving child/ren.
For a permanent adoption to take place on a false allegation will and has led to the most appalling trauma for all the family, including the child/ren that were removed and of equal importance is that if prosecutions or fact finds have been based on unsound science, or fabricated evidence in just one case by any single expert, that then leads to further cases being appealed or quashed, this could mean that genuine child abusers will walk.
In making a false allegation and then pursuing it, the authorities also divert much needed funding and resource away from the genuine cases of child abuse, so essentially a false allegation in and of itself does lead to child abuse going undetected.
All I ask for is that those involved in the protection of children do their job properly, making any convictions that much safer, which in turn protects the children.
I don't have an agenda other than the pursuit of the truth.
[1] http://www.courtservice.gov.uk/judgmentsfiles/j2209/regina-v-cannings.htm
Competing interests: Campaigner against false allegations of MSbP etc
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Dr Rumbold in saying that MAMA board portrays, 'All Parents tell the truth and All Doctors lie', are you not in turn saying, 'All Doctors tell the truth and All Parents lie'? It would be a wonderful world if we could believe all parents have their childrens best interests at heart and all doctors had their patients best interests at heart but if that were true child protection would not be needed and GP's such as Dr Shipman would never have exsisted.
MSBP is supposed to be a rare condition and yet now it seems to be an 'umbrella term' for anything that does not quite fit or conditions which cannot be explained. Far from being a rare condidtion it is now commonplace and hospitals have many cases on their books.
I am a wrongly accused parent however what makes my case slightly unique is my children are both adopted with their conditions outlined before I ever met them but I still managed to get accused of causing them, could this be a case where the medical profession got it wrong????
You seem to indicate in your post that Mrs Mellor is alone in her quest for justice however how do explain the recent All Party Group Meeting at the House of Lords on 2nd December 2004 where professionals in many fields spoke out about their concerns on false allegations of Munchausen by Proxy these included Dr Lynne Wrennall , Psychologist and Expert on Autism Lisa Blakemore-Brown, Angela and Terry Cannings Lawyer Bill Bache, Lord Fredrick Howe and many more all who gave their findings over a good many years? I think it would be naive to say no one is infallable but mistakes are happening with tragic results, you say this happens in all crimes would you compare SIDS with shoplifting or joyriding?? many would not.
Ms Mellor is you will find campaigning for 'Children's rights' BY campaigning for 'Parents rights' after all without the parents description doctors would not know if the child in their consulting room had a sore throat or Leukaemia.
Competing interests: The mother of two Autisic Children
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Justice: expediency before principle
The principle that it is better that ten guilty offenders are acquitted than one innocent person wrongly convicted has long been a cornerstone of the criminal justice system.
This is just one of the important principles of justice that has been thoroughly subverted in recent times and with the obvious connivance of the medical profession. Dr John Rumbold appears oblivious to the fact. We live in dangerous times.
Competing interests: None declared
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