Professor David Southall is a UK paediatrician who is regarded by some as a leading expert in Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII, also known as "Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy"),^[1] and who has performed significant research into sudden infant death syndrome. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Pediatrics (also spelled paediatrics) is the branch of Medicine that deals with the medical care of Infants Children and Adolescents Fabricated or induced illness (FII or Factitious disorders, originally and more commonly known as Munchausen syndrome or Munchausen syndrome by Munchausen syndrome is a Psychiatric disorder in which those affected fake disease illness or psychological trauma in order to draw attention or sympathy to themselves Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS is a syndrome marked by the symptoms of sudden and unexplained death of an apparently healthy Infant aged one month to one year ^[2]

Southall was struck off the medical register on 4 December 2007, after being found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council. "December 4th" redirects here For the song by Jay-Z, see December 4th (song. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The General Medical Council (the GMC) is the regulator of the medical profession in the United Kingdom. ^[3]

In his early career, Southall spent four years in general adult medicine, one year in obstetrics and two years as a general practitioner. Obstetrics (from the Latin obstare, "to stand by" is the surgical speciality dealing with the care of a woman and her offspring during Pregnancy A general practitioner, or GP is a medical practitioner who provides Primary care and specializes in Family medicine. ^[4]

Between 1986 and 1994, Southall led a pilot research project into FII involving video surveillance of young hospital patients in an effort to observe their carers (such as parents or guardians) harming them. ^[2] The project, which was conducted at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, and the North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary in Stoke-on-Trent, observed carers using methods such as suffocation and poisoning to harm the children. The Royal Brompton Hospital, commonly known as The Brompton, is a specialist Heart and Lung Hospital in Brompton, London London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS is a major teaching & research hospital in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent, England, near Stoke-on-Trent ( often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city in Staffordshire, England which forms a linear Conurbation almost 12 miles (19 In the context of Biology, poisons are substances that can cause damage, Illness, or Death to Organisms usually by ^[2] As a result of the project, thirty-three parents or step-parents who had harmed their children were prosecuted, and twenty-three were diagnosed with FII. ^[2]

The project attracted controversy for its methods and for the ethical implications of the research. Critics argued that the desire of the researchers to observe the carers harming the children exposed the children to further abuse, that the betrayal of doctor-patient trust necessarily involved in the surveillance could cause harm to the subjects, and that "a diagnosis should lead to treatment, not punishment". ^[5] However, the researchers argued that the surveillance saved the lives of many of the children involved, and Southall himself said that "[b]y doing covert video surveillance we are betraying the trust of parents. . . [b]ut if a parent has been abusing his or her child in this way then the trust between child and parent has already gone. "^[5]

In the early 1990s, Southall led a study which pioneered continuous negative extrathoracic pressure therapy, a treatment for breathing difficulties in young children involving the application of pressure to the patients' chests. ^[6] The study was controversial, with some parents of the children involved suggesting that the treatment was linked to subsequent death or brain injury. ^[6] The research was the subject of investigations by the hospital involved and inquiries from police. An independent follow-up study concluded in 2006 that there was "no evidence of disadvantage, in terms of long-term disability or psychological outcomes" from the use of the technique. ^[6]

In 1993, during the Bosnian War, Southall traveled to Sarajevo as a participant in a medical evacuation programme for sick children from the area. The War in Bosnia and Herzegovina, commonly known as the Bosnian War, was an international armed conflict that took place between March 1992 and November 1995 TemplateInfobox City for more fields--> Sarajevo is the Capital city and largest urban center of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with Medical evacuation, often termed MEDEVAC or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to the wounded being ^[4] Prompted by his experiences there of what he described as "trauma inflicted on children and their families, not only by warring factions, but also by the indolence of the international community", Southall established Child Advocacy International on his return, to advocate for international child health issues. ^[4]

In 2004, Southall was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council (GMC), after alleging to police that the husband of Sally Clark was responsible for murdering the couple's children. The General Medical Council (the GMC) is the regulator of the medical profession in the United Kingdom. Sally Clark ( 15 August 1964 &ndash 15 March, 2007) was a British lawyer. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries ^[7] Southall made the claim to child protection officers of the Staffordshire police after watching a television documentary about the case. Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic ^[1] The GMC banned Southall from child protection work for three years; the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence challenged the decision as insufficient and argued that he should be deregistered, but a High Court of Justice decision in 2005 held that the sanction was not unduly lenient. The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE is a UK health regulatory body set up under the ' National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions For the Cameroonian court by this name see High Court of Justice (Cameroon, for the Israeli court of this name see Supreme Court of Israel. ^[8]

In February 2007, Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith announced that a review would be held into a number of criminal cases in which Southall gave evidence for the prosecution, following allegations that Southall kept up to 4,450 personal case files on children patients which were kept separate from the official hospital records. Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is the chief legal adviser of the Crown in England and Wales Peter Henry Goldsmith Baron Goldsmith, PC, QC (born 5 January 1950) is a former Attorney General of England and Wales. ^[9]

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