American child experts criticise UK disciplinary action
Three leading American experts on child protection have criticised the General Medical Council over the way the watchdog handled complaints against two British paediatricians.
In a paper published in the US journal ‘Pediatrics’,
Doctors David Chadwick, Henry Krous and Desmond Runyan said the GMC had “failed” Professors Sir Roy Meadow and David Southall in the way it conducted disciplinary action.
The authors say they’ve studied transcripts of the Fitness To Practice panel investigations into the actions of both doctors and believe the Council “failed to conduct balanced hearings”. They further allege that the GMC “went beyond its competence in attempting to regulate medical expert testimony in child abuse cases”.
The three went on to express their concerns on how the cases have affected, and could affect in the future, expert evidence in criminal trials.
The GMC said its decision to investigate Professor Sir Roy Meadow had been justified by the need to serve the public interest.