GMC strikes Southall off medical register for serious professional misconduct
BMJ 2007; 335 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39420.690845.DB (Published 06 December 2007) Cite this as: BMJ 2007;335:1174
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The long shadow of Cleveland.
2004: Southall inappropriate accusations. 2007: Southall inappropriate accusations.
1980s: Cleveland inappropriate accusations [1]. Why the disparity in punishment
dispensed? If the sensory inattention of the Royal Colleges and GMC in
the 1980s had been replaced by rudimentary appreciation of right and wrong, had
simple insight and decency crushed aggressive zealotry at that time,
Southall (and many, many others) might never have happened. It is called
accountability [2,3,4]. It was called for in the 1980s [2]. And still
there is none; until the press have blown their horns, until it is too
late, until the prolonged damage is done.
That the simpering, defensive Royal College of Paediatrics and Child
Health, brimful of humanity towards their members, should be piously
“saddened and disappointed” at the punishment of one of their own, is
exactly what the problem is and remains in the UK health services.
Blindness at the highest level. Status and status quo must be preserved,
avoidable adverse outcomes to the public are, by contrast, a comparative
irrelevance.
William G Pickering 7.12.07 wgpi@hotmail.com
References:
1. Butler-Schloss (Lord). Report of the committee of inquiry into
child sexual abuse in Cleveland 1987. Presented to the Secretary of State
for Social Services by the Right Honourable Lord Butler-Schloss DBE.
London: HMSO, 1988. (Cm 412.)
2. Pickering W G. Glasnost and the medical inspectorate. J R Coll Gen
Pract 1988; 38: 517-8.
3. Pickering W G. An independent medical inspectorate. In: Gladstone
D, ed. Regulating doctors. London: Institute for the Study of Civil
Society, 2000: 47-63.(CIVITAS)
4. Pickering W G. Systematic clinical accountability is required
BMJ, Nov 2003; 327: 1109 ;
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
The GMC strikes out and strikes off again
The GMC lost face when their decision to strike Sir Roy Meadow off
the register for giving evidence in child protection cases was ruled
unduly harsh by the Court of Appeal. Now, for the second time, they have
pursued David Southall and struck him off, too.
All doctors have an obligation to act responsibly and be answerable;
paediatricians claim no exemption. We paediatricians are outraged,
however, because (i) we think that doctors should not be punished unduly
when they act in good faith for the protection of children; (ii) that the
decision and publicity surrounding these cases gives unwarranted
ammunition to anti-child abuse lobby groups, and (iii) that paediatricians
may be deterred from child protection work if they feel that they are
likely to be dealt with more harshly than their colleagues.
David Isaacs (davidi@chw.edu.au)
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests