Fury as expert paediatrician struck off

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Professionals have spoken out after the striking off of expert, and prosecution witness David Southall.
An independent GMC panel decided to strike off Southall. They issued a report looking at a number of cases in which Southall was said to have distressed parents by accusing them of abuse, or of not acting in the best interests of their children.Despite the fact that the panel describe multiple failings over an extended period the Royal College of Paediatricians and Child Health (RCPCH) and Professionals Against Child Abuse (PACA) have spoken out against the ruling, maintaining that his motivation was to protect children. They feel that the decision has serious implications for paediatricians and social workers in child protection cases, and the RCPCH are very concerned that paediatricians and social workers will be deterred from undertaking child protection work because of the case.The panels report describes how Southall seemingly took it upon himself to investigate child abuse allegations and remove medical records (apparently 4.5000 in total) to create special files related to the cases, which deprived other medical practitioners of the information and damaged the integrity of medical records. The panel acknowledged that he wasnt a threat to the public, but felt that a lesser decision would not have reflected the gravity of his misconduct. David Southall will have 28 days to appeal the decision.David Southall has already been placed on sanctions by a GMC panel in 2004 when he was found guilty of serious professional misconduct, but the information reviewed by the panel on this occasion related to earlier cases. PACA, a lobby group, mainly of fellow paediatricians, voiced their opposition in a letter to The Guardian claiming that the GMC discounted the testimony of David Southall and [an] accompanying social worker and feel that the decision will mean that:no doctor can rely on an independent professional witness who testifies that they acted appropriately and professionally in a consultationand paediatricians appear to have no defence against complaints from aggrieved parents who may have abused their children.