MMR scare doctor 'failed in his duties'
Dr Andrew Wakefield
Also In The News
|
By Matt Hallam. |  |
Thursday, 28, Jan 2010 07:32
By Sarah Garrod.
The doctor at the centre of the MMR vaccinations controversy has been found guilty of "failing in his duties".
Dr Andrew Wakefield led a study in the late 1990s in which he claimed to have found a link between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination and autism; sparking a nationwide health scare.
But after a lengthy investigation, Dr Wakefield was told by the General Medical Council (GMC) today he was guilty of serious professional misconduct, and could now face being struck off the medical register.
The study, which was published in the Lancet, caused a huge fall in vaccination rates, and hence a rise in the number of cases of measles. Dr Wakefield was accused of dishonesty following the publication, and in the hearing by the GMC allegations claimed he used invasive tests on children and paid his son's friends at a children's birthday party for blood samples during the study.
Two others who worked with Dr Wakefield on the research, professors John Walker-Smith and Simon Murchm, could also be struck off the medical register if found guilty of misconduct. At the time, all three doctors were employed at the Royal Free Hospital's medical school in London.
All three denied the allegations against them.
The GMC said today Dr Wakefield had acted dishonestly and had misled the public in the way he described his findings in the Lancet. He did not appear at the hearing.