Dr David Southall: Miscreant or Misunderstood?

Catherine Williams Reader in Law Sheffield University

There is an irony in the fact that on the very same day that one judge in the Baby P case said that paediatricians should be much more wary and challenging of parents who might be deceitful another judge upheld the erasure of a prominent paediatrician Dr David Southall for doing as he and many others had thought was just that. The Baby P doctor Dr Al Sabah has been reported to the GMC who have currently suspended her registration. Dr Southall's name has been erased from the medical register and he is prevented from practising. Doctors could not possibly get any more conflicting judicial messages and the only possible effect of the juxtaposition of these two messages is paralysis. What should paediatricians do? At the moment the message appears to be: if you do not challenge a parent you may be prevented from practising and if you do challenge a parent you may be prevented from practising. Either way your career is in ruins. The full facts surrounding...

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