[MedicalConspiracies] MMR doctor struck from register for speaking out-- Big Pharma wins again

-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	BBC News - MMR doctor struck from register for speaking out-- Big Pharma wins again
Date:	Sun, 30 May 2010 11:13:46 -0400
From:	Lucky <luckypig@infionline.net>

 

 Big Pharma wins again ......

      MMR doctor struck from register
            By Nick Triggle
            Health reporter, BBC News




      MMR vaccine row doctor defends investigation

      The doctor who first suggested a link between MMR vaccinations and
autism is to be struck off the medical register.

      The General Medical Council found Dr Andrew Wakefield guilty of serious professional misconduct over the way he carried out his
controversial research.

      It follows a GMC ruling earlier this year that he had acted unethically.

      Dr Wakefield, who is now based in the US, has consistently claimed the
allegations are unfair. He now says he will appeal against the verdict.

      His 1998 Lancet study caused vaccination rates to plummet, resulting
in a rise in measles - but the findings were later discredited.

      The GMC ruled in January Dr Wakefield had acted "dishonestly and
irresponsibly" in conducting his research, but under its procedures the
sanctions are made at a later date.

      The case did not investigate whether Dr Wakefield's findings were
right or wrong, instead it focused on the methods of research.

            The panel concluded that it is the only sanction that is appropriate to protect patients and is in the wider public interest

            Dr Surendra Kumar
            Panel chairman
      During the two-and-a-half-year case, the longest in GMC history, he
was accused of carrying out invasive tests on vulnerable children which were
against their best interests.

      The GMC also said Dr Wakefield, who was working at London's Royal Free
Hospital as a gastroenterologist at the time, did not have the ethical
approval or relevant qualifications for such tests.

      And the panel hearing the case took exception with the way he gathered
blood samples. Dr Wakefield paid children £5 for the samples at his son's
birthday party.

      It also said Dr Wakefield should have disclosed the fact that he had
been paid to advise solicitors acting for parents who believed their
children had been harmed by the MMR.

      Serious misconduct

      In making the verdict on the sanctions, Dr Surendra Kumar, the panel's
chairman, said Dr Wakefield had "brought the medical profession into
disrepute" and his behaviour constituted "multiple separate instances of
serious professional misconduct".

      In total, he was found guilty of more than 30 charges.

      Dr Kumar also explained the reasoning for striking Dr Wakefield off.

      "The panel concluded that it is the only sanction that is appropriate
to protect patients and is in the wider public interest, including the
maintenance of public trust and confidence in the profession, and is
proportionate to the serious and wide-ranging findings made against him."

      Dr Wakefield has consistently claimed the allegations against him were
"unfounded and unjust".

      As the GMC announced its sanctions, Dr Wakefield said: "Efforts to
discredit and silence me through the GMC process have provided a screen to
shield the government from exposure on the MMR vaccine scandal."

      Two of his former colleagues at the Royal Free were also ruled to have
broken guidelines.

      Professor John Walker-Smith and Professor Simon Murch both helped Dr
Wakefield carry out the research.

      Professor Walker-Smith, who is 73 and has been retired for the past 10
years, was found guilty of serious professional misconduct and struck off
the register. Professor Murch was found not guilty of serious professional
misconduct despite there not being ethical approval for the research.

      In explaining this decision, Dr Kumar said he took into account the
fact that Professor Murch stopped carrying out tests on children for the
study because he did not think they were necessary.

      Professor Terence Stephenson, president of the Royal College of
Paediatrics and Child Health, said the scare over the vaccine had done
"untold damage to the UK vaccination programme".

      "We cannot stress too strongly that all children and young people
should have the MMR vaccine."

      The Department of Health reiterated this. A spokesman said: "The
safety of MMR has been endorsed through numerous studies in many countries."






http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8695267.stm

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