Paediatricians slam media 'bias'

The letter is signed by 38 doctors

A group of leading doctors has accused the media of bias against paediatricians which they say harms children's interests.

In a letter to the Guardian the doctors said they could no longer remain silent amid recent court cases and a "media campaign against colleagues".

The letter comes a month after a Royal College of Paediatricians report on the state of child protection work.

It said many doctors received hate mail and had considered giving up the role.

Ignoring reports

The 38 signatories to the letter complained about media pronouncements that Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy - in which sufferers induce or fabricate illnesses in others, in order to get attention themselves - did not exist.

That gave "scant consideration to Department of Health and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health reports", they said.

What has happened is that whole families have been traumatised and paediatricians should look long and hard Angela Cannings

The letter was signed by 37 consultant paediatricians and one paediatric radiologist.

They highlighted the recent royal college survey which found no paediatrician had been found guilty of professional misconduct from 87 complaints made to the General Medical Council.

High-profile cases

Two senior paediatricians, Professor Sir Roy Meadow and Professor David Southall, face allegations of serious professional misconduct.

Sir Roy first identified Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, and gave evidence at the trials of Sally Clark, Angela Cannings and Trupti Patel.

They were all accused of killing their babies.

Mrs Clark was freed from custody after her conviction was quashed, while Mrs Patel was cleared at her trial.

'Discredited'

Mrs Cannings had her conviction for murdering her two baby sons overturned by the Court of Appeal last year.

Speaking on Channel 4 News, she said that no family should suffer the way her and other families have suffered.

"There have been high profile cases and some leading paediatricians are being discredited because the evidence was not there.

"What has happened in my case and other cases is that whole families have been traumatised. Paediatricians should look long and hard at these individual cases," she said.