Sick and Tired - BBC

From MEpedia, a crowd-sourced encyclopedia of ME and CFS science and history

Sick & Tired was a British TV episode made by the BBC and broadcast in 1999 on British television. A transcript of the production is available.[1] Viewers left comments on the BBC web site after the show aired.[2] A comment on The British Medical Journal (BMJ) web site referred to the show as "a hatchet job".[3] The episode was a documentary that included commentary about a child seriously ill with ME/CFS whose parents stated he was placed on the social services "At risk" register for child abuse as a result of pediatrician Alan Stanton's intervention.[1]

The BMJ later published an article referring to the programme, and to the harassment of doctors by parents that they had accused of harming their children, the article showed support for both Sir Roy Meadows and Dr David Southall, both doctors who were found to have given inaccurate medical testimony that helped convict parents of killing their children[4][5]. The article also falsely claimed one mother had been found guilty of perjury; the BMJ published a correction stating this was not true.[6][7]

Complaints[edit | edit source]

Great Ormond Street children's hospital and Dr Michael Prendergast lodged complaints, parts of which were upheld.[8]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 BBC. "Sick and Tired | Panorama". Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  2. "BBC News | Previous programmes | What you have said. Panorama. Sick and Tired. Your first comments". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  3. Garralda, Elena (November 4, 2018). "Sick and tired". The BMJ.
  4. BBC News (February 17, 2006). "Profile: Sir Roy Meadow". Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  5. BBC news (May 4, 2010). "Southall back on medical register". Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  6. Marcovitch, Harvey (November 20, 1999). "Diagnose and be damned". BMJ : British Medical Journal. 319 (7221): 1376. ISSN 0959-8138. PMC 1117104. PMID 10567164. Dr Alan Stanton, a community paediatrician who had intervened in a case where parents' views and those of the local medical team were in conflict. This child's case had already led to www.msbp.com targeting Stanton for his stance in this case, and he has had to deal with complaints to his hospital trust and the GMC.
  7. "Diagnose and be damned. Additional article information". BMJ : British Medical Journal. 319 (7222): 1444. November 27, 1999. ISSN 0959-8138. PMC 1117173. PMID 10574891. In this article by Harvey Marcovitch (20 November, pp 1376-7) on the problems faced by doctors who deal with child abuse it was wrongly stated that Sharon Payne (also known as Sharon Wraxall) was convicted of perjury. The BMJ wishes to apologise to Ms Payne for this error.
  8. Adjudication Summaries (issued 6 February 2001)