- TV
DOCTOR PERSAUD SUSPENDED BY GMC
June
20 2008
Celebrity
psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud has been suspended from
practising for three months by the General Medical
Council for passing off other scholars' work as his
own.
The
doctor, famed for his appearances on the television
chat show This Morning and BBC Radio 4's All In The
Mind, denied his actions were dishonest and liable to
bring his profession into disrepute.
But a
GMC disciplinary panel sitting in Manchester ruled
that his "dishonest conduct" had undermined
public confidence in the profession.
Dr
Anthony Morgan, chairman of the Fitness to Practise
Panel, said: "The Panel has determined that a
three-month period of suspension is sufficient to
send out a signal to you, the profession and the
public that plagiarism is unacceptable
behaviour."
Dr
Persaud was accused of plagiarising material for a
book. Chunks of "stolen words" in the work,
apparently written by Dr Persaud, were actually the
work of other authors. He said that at the time he
believed he had sufficiently acknowledged other
authors' work.
In a
statement issued through the Medical Protection
Society, Dr Persaud said: "I am saddened by the
findings and decision of the GMC, which relates to
material published in 2004 and 2005. These matters
have been under investigation since 2005.
"As
I said during the hearing, I accept that my use of
the work of some authors lacked adequate
acknowledgement.
"I
have apologised repeatedly for this during the
hearing, and I apologise for this now. I am saddened
that this occurred while I was seeking to promote the
work of academics to the wider public.
"I
am grateful for the support of so many colleagues,
patients and members of the public who have contacted
the GMC and myself to offer their support to me at
this difficult time.
"Mental
illness and psychological problems are much
misunderstood, but extremely common predicaments
which still require energetic efforts to
de-stigmatise. I hope to be allowed to continue with
this work in the future."
BBC
radio: hear a Persaud plagiarism victim interviewed
