Medical group tells doctors not to work in Singapore
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http://singabloodypore.blogspot.com/2004/07/potential-dangers-of-accepting-future.html
Medical group tells doctors not to work in Singapore
By John Burton in Singapore
Published: July 8 2004 17:14 | Last Updated: July 8 2004 17:49
A medical watchdog group has suggested that foreign doctors should
not work in Singapore following an ethics dispute between a UK
medical researcher and the scientist daughter of Lee Kuan Yew, the
city-state's senior politician.
The recommendation by the UK-based Medical Protection Society (MPS), which provides advice to doctors facing legal problems arising from clinical practice in more than 40 countries, could set back efforts by Singapore to attract medical researchers in its goal to become a leading global biomedical centre.
The case concerned Simon Shorvon, who served as director of
Singapore's National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) until he was
dismissed in April 2003 for allegedly testing 127 patients without
their consent. The testing was carried out as part of a research
project on Parkinson's disease and other neurological conditions.
The allegations were brought to the attention of Singapore's health authorities by Lee Wei Ling, Mr Lee's daughter, who resigned from the project and was appointed to succeed Dr Shorvon as NNI director at the start of this year.
In a sharply worded statement, MPS criticised a report by the
National Healthcare Group, NNI's parent, that led to the dismissal of Dr Shorvon, who works as a professor at the UK's Institute of
Neurology.
Two experts appointed by the MPS said they "fully supported" Dr
Shorvon's actions.
"I can see no evidence that Dr Shorvon has behaved inappropriately or unethically," said Niall Quinn of University College London and an authority on Parkinson's disease research.
He described the inquiry report as "appallingly slanted" and its
contents were "utterly disproportionate to the reality of the events reported".
Peter Sever of Imperial College London said the UK Royal College of Physicians "should consider advising its members of the potential dangers of accepting future posts in Singapore" because of a "lack of fairness" that "can impact upon an individual's professional reputation".
"I find the accusation nothing short of absurd. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Dr Shorvon fell victim to internal power
struggles and personal vendettas," said David Goldstein, a geneticist at the University College London, who worked on Dr Shorvon's research team in Singapore.
In an interview with the Singapore Straits Times in January, Dr Lee rejected allegations by "detractors" that she had acted against Dr Shorvon to take over his post.
"They must be completely uninformed about the seriousness of
Shorvon's misdeeds and about my character and goals in life.
"I would have preferred someone else who is competent, dedicated and willing to do the job" as NNI director, she said.
She also accused Dr Shorvon of causing rifts in NNI "using the very effective British colonial method of 'divide and rule'."
The health ministry's Singapore Medical Council held a 10-day hearing on Dr Shorvon in February 2004 and noted he refused to take part in the proceedings on the advice of MPS, which also did not submit its review of the case.
Dr Shorvon said he did not appear since he was not on the Singapore Medical Register and that the SMC had no jurisdiction to hear the case as a result.
The council said that all of the 30 charges of professional
misconduct against Dr Shorvon had been "proven beyond a reasonable
doubt" during the disciplinary hearings. Dr Shorvon has asked the
General Medical Council in the UK to review the allegations. -
erm, is this my concern??
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It is your tax money going down the drain.Originally posted by Mr Fugue:erm, is this my concern?? -
erm I thot it always does??Originally posted by Love Story:It is your tax money going down the drain. -
Kaaa - pui!#....
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Specialist ousted in research row
Owen Dyer, London
A British epilepsy specialist has been dismissed after an inquiry panel appointed by the Singaporean government found that he had infringed patients' rights and acted unethically while conducting research as director of Singapore's National Neuroscience Institute.
Professor Simon Shorvon, 54, was dismissed from his post last Thursday after conceding in a letter that the panel's findings were correct. "I accept the report and the findings therein," he wrote in a letter dated 31 March in response to the panel's original report, which was released on 21 March.
Mr Michael Lim, chairman of the National Healthcare Group, the public body that employed Professor Shorvon, wrote to him on 25 March offering him two choices: accepting the findings of the health ministry inquiry; or facing a commission of inquiry led by a judge, the equivalent of a public inquiry.
On the same day the panel released a supplementary report that accused the professor of tampering with patients' records while visiting the offices of the solicitors advising the panel. Professor Shorvon has denied these charges, which have been passed on to the Singapore police.
The inquiry centred on a $6m (£3.8m; a5.6m) government sponsored study of genetic factors in Parkinson's disease and two other disorders. When Professor Shorvon and his assistants found themselves far short of patient recruitment targets for the Parkinson's disease arm of the study, they obtained lists of patients from two hospitals. They recruited 127 patients by calling them directly, bypassing their neurologists.
The patients' neurologists were not informed of the tests that were done, which in many cases included altering their treatment. Patients were tested for Parkinson's disease by an L-dopa test, which usually involved missing one or two doses before testing of motor function. Missing doses was potentially harmful to patients, the panel found.
Also, the consent forms signed by the patients made no mention of the L-dopa test, during which several patients were videotaped. Members of the study's ethics committee also testified that they were unaware of the tests.
Professor Shorvon's research assistant and doctoral student Mr Ramachandran Viswanathan was singled out for especially harsh criticism by the panel, which said the student had "fled Singapore." The government has begun procedures to extradite him from India. The health ministry has also announced plans to strengthen research ethics committees.
Professor Shorvon left Singapore last weekend and has returned to his previous job at the Institute of Neurology at University College London. The university is carrying out its own investigation of the allegations.
The Medical Protection Society issued a statement on Professor Shorvon's behalf, saying he could not comment while at least one formal inquiry is pending. The statement said: "Although he initially accepted the inquiry's report and its conclusions it was under exceptional circumstances and there is a great deal in the report that he is contesting."
Another British neurologist, Professor Nick Wood, also of the UCL Institute of Neurology, was also involved in the research. He refused to answer the inquiry panel's questions, but sent them a message saying he had not helped to formulate the study protocol. The panel criticised his refusal to appear but refrained from further comment.
(source: BMJ Journals) -
Just because of that NNI's case
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maybe it's part of destiny??Originally posted by sbst275:Just because of that NNI's case -
This one like a few years ago. Why bring it up? Anyway, UK and Singapore thinking are different. What Singapore deems as unethical is ethical to them.
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never mind mah... Sg can always attract more fellows from PRC.. so who cares about our reputation to UK ... *please read between my lines*
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I can't believe we need a disclaimer for sacarsm in case people cannot distinct the hidden meaning!!Originally posted by mistyblue:never mind mah... Sg can always attract more fellows from PRC.. so who cares about our reputation to UK ... *please read between my lines*
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some just read too literallyOriginally posted by Mr Fugue:I can't believe we need a disclaimer for sacarsm in case people cannot distinct the hidden meaning!! 
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its destinedOriginally posted by Mr Fugue:I can't believe we need a disclaimer for sacarsm in case people cannot distinct the hidden meaning!! -
yup~!!Originally posted by kaobeikaobu:its destined -
I think this is juz bing shan yo jiao, still got a lot of these type of incidents only we dun know
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Dont care about what UK thinks?
Thing again. Your O levels papers are marked by them. If u piss them, u will know the reason why a certain year, there are many O level flunkers in Singapore.
Foreign countries are different from the outdated singaporean mentality.