Your comments

Thank you for sending us your comments.

The debate is now closed but a selection of your views are published below.

Panorama: "A Very Dangerous Doctor" was broadcast on BBC One, Monday, 1 June at 8.30pm.

More about "A Very Dangerous Doctor"

---

I was very, very disappointed by this programme. You only looked at the really extreme clashes between Southall and big personalities - but you ignored the hundreds or maybe thousands of ordinary families with sick or disabled kids whose lives have been torn apart by unsubstantiated theories espoused and peddled by Southall and his cronies. I think you need to revisit your own research and look at the big picture to understand the dangers of Southall.

- Jan

Thank you for this excellent programme and for providing David Southall with a voice. This is a very important programme at a time when professional work to protect children is under attack and when the government has abolished some of the protocols which used to work well to protect children such as the child protection register and much of the investigative work with police.

- Liz Davies

We need more doctors like Dr David Southall in this country. As a nation we should take any steps necessary to protect the most vulnerable, i.e. children. Mistakes will always happen, but if you can save just one then it is worth it.

- P Atwal

Currently we are living in a society where child abuse is rife. We are quick to blame in cases of abuse, for instance Baby P. Here, doctors are blamed for not spotting abuse, but when a doctor claims to have spotted abuse and goes through the proper channels he is struck off by the GMC. A policeman who gives evidence against a person found guilty by a court of law is then not sacked so why is a doctor? Is it not his job to act in what he believes is the best interest of the child and then a court to decide guilt?

- Robert Peckham

Just viewed your balanced account of Dr David Southall's background. Controversial figure he may be but it would seem that the GMC have not given him a fair hearing. Child abuse is unforgiveable and he's put his career on the line to try and prevent it. I give him my support.

- Avon Priestley

Child Protection Services are not well-served and fall into disrepute when doctors such as Mr Southall use unproven and scientifically unsound theories of child abuse to accuse innocent parents of child abuse. Such accusations and the subsequent investigations cause serious and long lasting emotional harm to children and frequently destroy families. Medical bodies such as the RCPCH and the BMA have ignored such behaviours by their members for too long and it is long overdue that they stopped such practices rather than support such members of the medical profession.

- Charles Pragnell

I have reservations about the way this investigation was constructed for television. I wonder why one of the people selected to present the opposing view to Dr Southall was shown dragging on her cigarette to give the impression she was common and therefore, not a credible witness. I also wonder why all of the accused child abusers were unidentifiable which means no-one can verify the claims of this story. If the public were given a clear image of the abusers then they might not doubt what they saw. As it stands I have no way of knowing whether Mr Southall is guilty or innocent.

- Charles Evans

Dr Southall was our daughter's consultant at the Brompton and North Staffs for approx seven years and my husband and I thought he was a wonderful man - enthusiastic, caring, and wanted very much to help. We valued his judgement and always felt our daughter was in very capable hands. If we can help Dr Southall's appeal in any way we would be only too happy to do so.

- Joan Goudie

Dr. Southall is arrogant and foolish to base a clinical judgement on an interview he had seen on a TV programme. However, the fact that there was CCTV footage confirming that parents were physically abusing their children is truly shocking. I cannot believe that this practice was stopped (forcing experts to rely on their fine judgement) and surely there can be no possible argument against this. If there are any arguments against the use of CCTV then I would like to hear it but after the case of Baby Peter there is clearly an argument to put some parents under covert surveillance to ensure that the children are properly protected. As for the GMC, it has proven itself as inadequate and not fit for purpose.

- Jason Mead

I very rarely watch Panorama however I decided to watch tonight's episode and I found it a truly shocking subject. I am no medical expert but I am a mother and after all the controversy that has arisen in recent months claiming that not enough is done to protect vulnerable children, how can it be possible that people want to persecute professionals such as David Southall for doing their upmost to protect children? These professionals may make mistakes but those mistakes are made with the best intentions and based on signs and symptoms that cause them concerns therefore they must speak out, surely this is better than turning a blind eye or being afraid to mention suspicions in case of repercussions. The covert filming David Southall pushed for in the UK was a fantastic system and has more than likely saved the lives of the children it filmed being abused, so how can this system be ceased and classed as unethical? I believe this story highlights the issues and worries facing doctors and these issues seriously need to be addressed and decisive decisions made and stuck to. No other doctor should have to go through what David Southall has all in the name of trying to protect children he believed to be in danger.

- Lisa Royle

Child Protection is a great concern not only to all professionals but also to families, whereby incorrect allegations harm a family life forever. A family once bitten by the system will question whether or not it is necessary to take a child to the doctor or get help for that child, for fear of a child being removed that was not the fault of the parents. The system is harsh to families and unless proven severe harm to a child is apparent the system should not speculate to accumulate children in a worthless child care placement. The system should instead work with families with un-judgemental advice and assist in the best ways possible to turn any dysfunctional family around.

- Brodde