1. The Metro
2. Controversial medic hearing resumes.
Salient features of the this week's events can be read here.
Most of the antics by the GMC was omitted by the media including the recent supportive statistics report obtained by the GMC.
3. DOCTORS ARGUE THEY CAN'T HAVE FAIR TRIAL
Source - Sentinel
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DAVE BLACKHURST
DAVE.BLACKHURST@THESENTINEL.CO.UK
09:40 - 14 May 2008
Two North Staffordshire doctors facing disciplinary charges over their involvement in a breathing study on sick babies say it happened so long ago they will be robbed of a fair trail.
But a third medic, Dr David Southall, intends to, "defend the allegations one by one and show them as hollow and baseless", the General Medical Council heard yesterday.
Along with fellow paediatricians, doctors Andrew Spencer and Martin Samuels, he is before the GMC's fitness to practice panel in Manchester to answer complaints by Clayton couple Carl and Deborah Henshall.
They claim one baby, Stacey, died after two days and another, Sofie, now 15, has brain damage because they were placed into low pressure CNEP tanks as part of a research programme in the early 1990s.
More than 100 babies were subject to the programme, to see if they could breath without ventilators in their wind pipes.
The GMC opened the two month hearing by dramatically withdrawing a number of charges relating to statistical parts of the study and clearing an academic paper the doctors published on it.
But Dr Spencer is still facing charges over his care of Sofie soon after her birth at the then North Staffordshire Hospital in December 1992 and the way he took consent from parents.
Dr Southall faces concerns both over taking consent and his application for ethical approval of the research.
And Dr Samuels faces claims that, as research administrator, he failed to ensure appropriate procedures were in place to obtain informed consent.
For Dr Southall, who has just resigned from his job at the hospital, Mary O'Rourke said: "He believes there has been an inordinate and inexcusable delay in this case caused by the GMC and the complainants and that will stop him having a fair trial.
"But he still wants to defeat all allegations one by one and he wants me to cross-examine the complainants."
Martin Ford QC, for Dr Spencer, described the case as being as old as any to come before the panel with one charge expecting witnesses to remember what happened at three minutes past midnight on December 15, 1992.
He said: "This delay is not the doctors' responsibility. A lot of witnesses will be extremely defensive about their role in the 1990s. There is a real fear they will not be judged by 1990s' standards, but by those of 2008.
"These matters have been twice investigated already and 90 per cent of parents recall giving consent. There is no suggestion in the charges that any child came to harm from CNEP, whatever the Henshalls say.
"In the study there was a higher death and disability rate among the babies undergoing CNEP than those having normal ventilation. But the doctors argue that with such sick infants it was not significant
Source - Sentinel
Be the first reader to comment on this story
DAVE BLACKHURST
DAVE.BLACKHURST@THESENTINEL.CO.UK
09:40 - 14 May 2008
Two North Staffordshire doctors facing disciplinary charges over their involvement in a breathing study on sick babies say it happened so long ago they will be robbed of a fair trail.
But a third medic, Dr David Southall, intends to, "defend the allegations one by one and show them as hollow and baseless", the General Medical Council heard yesterday.
Along with fellow paediatricians, doctors Andrew Spencer and Martin Samuels, he is before the GMC's fitness to practice panel in Manchester to answer complaints by Clayton couple Carl and Deborah Henshall.
They claim one baby, Stacey, died after two days and another, Sofie, now 15, has brain damage because they were placed into low pressure CNEP tanks as part of a research programme in the early 1990s.
More than 100 babies were subject to the programme, to see if they could breath without ventilators in their wind pipes.
The GMC opened the two month hearing by dramatically withdrawing a number of charges relating to statistical parts of the study and clearing an academic paper the doctors published on it.
But Dr Spencer is still facing charges over his care of Sofie soon after her birth at the then North Staffordshire Hospital in December 1992 and the way he took consent from parents.
Dr Southall faces concerns both over taking consent and his application for ethical approval of the research.
And Dr Samuels faces claims that, as research administrator, he failed to ensure appropriate procedures were in place to obtain informed consent.
For Dr Southall, who has just resigned from his job at the hospital, Mary O'Rourke said: "He believes there has been an inordinate and inexcusable delay in this case caused by the GMC and the complainants and that will stop him having a fair trial.
"But he still wants to defeat all allegations one by one and he wants me to cross-examine the complainants."
Martin Ford QC, for Dr Spencer, described the case as being as old as any to come before the panel with one charge expecting witnesses to remember what happened at three minutes past midnight on December 15, 1992.
He said: "This delay is not the doctors' responsibility. A lot of witnesses will be extremely defensive about their role in the 1990s. There is a real fear they will not be judged by 1990s' standards, but by those of 2008.
"These matters have been twice investigated already and 90 per cent of parents recall giving consent. There is no suggestion in the charges that any child came to harm from CNEP, whatever the Henshalls say.
"In the study there was a higher death and disability rate among the babies undergoing CNEP than those having normal ventilation. But the doctors argue that with such sick infants it was not significant
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