MMR Row Doctor Faces Disciplinary Hearing

THE doctor at the centre of the MMR vaccine row had limited experience of the medical ethics surrounding paediatrics, a disciplinary hearing heard yesterday.

Dr Andrew Wakefield had “no training and extremely limited experience” in requesting parental consent for samples taken from children, General Medical Council lawyers said.

The 51-year-old father-of-four, who now lives and works in the US, appeared before the organisation’s Fitness to Practice Panel in London.

Dr Wakefield sparked controversy in the late 1990s, when he said he believed he had uncovered a link between the MMR jab, bowel disease and autism.

He is charged with serious professional misconduct, alongside professors John Walker-Smith and Simon Murch. The trio deny the charges.

The central allegations against the men relate to investigations for their study on 12 youngsters with bowel disorders between 1996 and 1998.

Last summer the GMC heard that vulnerable children were subjected to “inappropriate and invasive” tests by the doctors who were in breach of “some of the most fundamental rules in medicine”.

One of the key claims is that Dr Wakefield accepted pounds 50,000 from the Legal Aid board for research to support parents’ attempts to fight for compensation, but the GMC alleges the costs involved would have been met by the NHS. The hearing continues.

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