Review finds child experts disagreed in 47 cases out of 5000
http://www.100md.com
《英国医生杂志》
legal correspondent, BMJ
The government launched a high level official inquiry last week into the use of expert witnesses in child abuse cases, in the face of a shortage of paediatricians willing to undertake court work.
Margaret Hodge, the children's minister, announced that the chief medical officer for England, Professor Liam Donaldson, would look at the competencies required to give expert evidence in the family courts, and ways of remedying the dearth of paediatricians, paediatric pathologists, and other experts who will agree to do the work.
The move comes amid what seems to be a crisis of public confidence in the competence of experts who testify in child care cases, after three high profile criminal cases in which mothers accused of killing their children were acquitted or had their convictions overturned on appeal. In one—the case of Angela Cannings, whose conviction for murdering two of her babies was quashed last year—the appeal court said no prosecutions should be brought in future where medical experts were in dispute and there was no other cogent evidence.
Children's minister Margaret Hodge has asked chief medical officer Professor Liam Donaldson to look at the skills needed to give evidence in the family courts
Credit: STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA
That ruling prompted the government to order a review of both criminal prosecutions of parents for child killing and family cases where a child had been taken into care, to find those where the result hinged on disputed medical evidence.
Mrs Hodge last week announced the results of the first stage of the care cases review, covering children who have been the subject of care proceedings since 23 February this year. Of 5175 cases involving 9195 children, in only 385 cases did the finding of significant harm depend on expert evidence. Of those, there was a dispute between experts in only 47 cases, and in only one had the local authority concerned changed the care plan for the child as a result of the review.
In the second stage of the review, local councils will review around 30 000 care orders already made to check whether children have wrongly been taken into care on disputed medical evidence.
Of 100 criminal cases reviewed so far, possible grounds for appeal have been identified in five, Mrs Hodge said.
Paediatricians are reluctant to undertake child abuse work after media vilification of Professor Roy Meadow, who gave evidence for the prosecution in the Cannings case, and Professor David Southall, another regular prosecution expert, who was last week found guilty by the General Medical Council of abusing his professional position in the case of Stephen Clark (19 June, p 1455).
Professor Donaldson will conduct "a programme of work to determine how best to ensure the availability and quality of medical expert resources to the family courts."(Clare Dyer)
The government launched a high level official inquiry last week into the use of expert witnesses in child abuse cases, in the face of a shortage of paediatricians willing to undertake court work.
Margaret Hodge, the children's minister, announced that the chief medical officer for England, Professor Liam Donaldson, would look at the competencies required to give expert evidence in the family courts, and ways of remedying the dearth of paediatricians, paediatric pathologists, and other experts who will agree to do the work.
The move comes amid what seems to be a crisis of public confidence in the competence of experts who testify in child care cases, after three high profile criminal cases in which mothers accused of killing their children were acquitted or had their convictions overturned on appeal. In one—the case of Angela Cannings, whose conviction for murdering two of her babies was quashed last year—the appeal court said no prosecutions should be brought in future where medical experts were in dispute and there was no other cogent evidence.
Children's minister Margaret Hodge has asked chief medical officer Professor Liam Donaldson to look at the skills needed to give evidence in the family courts
Credit: STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA
That ruling prompted the government to order a review of both criminal prosecutions of parents for child killing and family cases where a child had been taken into care, to find those where the result hinged on disputed medical evidence.
Mrs Hodge last week announced the results of the first stage of the care cases review, covering children who have been the subject of care proceedings since 23 February this year. Of 5175 cases involving 9195 children, in only 385 cases did the finding of significant harm depend on expert evidence. Of those, there was a dispute between experts in only 47 cases, and in only one had the local authority concerned changed the care plan for the child as a result of the review.
In the second stage of the review, local councils will review around 30 000 care orders already made to check whether children have wrongly been taken into care on disputed medical evidence.
Of 100 criminal cases reviewed so far, possible grounds for appeal have been identified in five, Mrs Hodge said.
Paediatricians are reluctant to undertake child abuse work after media vilification of Professor Roy Meadow, who gave evidence for the prosecution in the Cannings case, and Professor David Southall, another regular prosecution expert, who was last week found guilty by the General Medical Council of abusing his professional position in the case of Stephen Clark (19 June, p 1455).
Professor Donaldson will conduct "a programme of work to determine how best to ensure the availability and quality of medical expert resources to the family courts."(Clare Dyer)