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 By听Andrew Hosken
A Today investigation has found that a senior paediatrician in Stoke has been accused of over-diagnosing cases of child abuse he claimed were a result of 'Munchausens Syndrome by Proxy'.
Today reporter, Andrew Hosken, has been investigating allegations from some parents that Professor David Southall, an eminent paediatrician at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust, has incorrectly diagnosed a number of cases of 'Munchausens Syndrome by Proxy', causing great distress to many families.
Some medical experts have also questioned the way in which the diagnosis is carried out. Dr Paul Johnson of the John Radcliffe Hospital has been an expert witness in many cases of MSBP. He is concerned that some prosecutions were made when the scientific 'evidence' was based on opinion rather than medical fact. He says that stringent verification must take place, and believes national guidelines must be set down to prevent this ever happening again.
The General Medical Council is due to conduct hearings into some of the allegations against Professor Southall later this year.
History of MSBP
Many children are abused and even killed by their parents every year. In 1977 the former head of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Professor Sir Roy Meadow, termed the condition 'Munchausens Syndrome by Proxy' which he claimed was听one reason many parents and carers injure children in their care.
This disorder was brought into the public spotlight following the case of nurse Beverley Allitt who was convicted of killing four patients at the Grantham Hospital in 1993. The controversial syndrome is hotly debated in the medical literature by doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and parents.
In the last 25 years many parents have been diagnosed with MSBP and their children were taken into care, in some instances criminal charges were made. Recently there have been a number of cases which have been overturned at appeal, and some experts are now questioning the quality of some of the scientific evidence presented to the courts.
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