A leading Midland doctor is to be investigated by the General Medical Council after parents complained he wrongly diagnosed their children as victims of abuse. Consultant paediatrician Professor David Southall, of North Staffordshire Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent, is one of the UK's top experts on Munchausen's Syndrome By Proxy, a condition which apparently drives parents to harm their own children in order to win attention. But the syndrome has been the centre of controversy after a series of court judgments cast doubt on the credibility of the doctor who first identified it, Professor Sir Roy Meadow. It is understood that four women have complained to the GMC that Prof Southall wrongly diagnosed abuse of their children. They have alleged that medical opinions from other doctors contradicted his findings and in some cases it is believed that that children were taken into care as a result of his diagnoses. The allegations are expected to be dealt with in a public hearing at the GMC in June. It is not the first time Prof Southall has been investigated. In 2000 he was suspended from his position at the hospital during an inquiry into his work with controversial ventilator tank experiments on premature babies, during which 28 babies died. He was reinstated in 2002 after being cleared of any professional misconduct or incompetence. Last night a spokeswoman for the GMC confirmed that on February 26 the organisation's preliminary proceedings committee considered two recent complaints relating to Prof David Southall. "After examination of the evidence they have decided not to proceed with one of the complaints. The other complaint was referred to the professional conduct committee," she said. She added Professor Southall was due to appear before the committee this summer over a separate matter but declined to give details. The University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, pointed out previous investigations into Prof Southall's work had cleared him of misconduct. In a statement, the trust said his child protection work had been examined by a panel of independent experts which found he acted in a way that promoted the best interests of children in his care. It did not find any evidence of inappropriate diagnosis. Prof Southall has previously sparked controversy over his use of video surveillance of parents to detect child abuse. The trust declined to comment further about the GMC investigation but a spokeswoman added: "I do know some parents have taken Professor Southall to the GMC and that these cases are due to be heard later this year. At the moment we do not think there is anything to say." Conservative health spokesman Earl Howe called for a public inquiry into Munchausen's Syndrome By Proxy to look into the validity of the diagnosis and to consider what redress there might be for any parents wrongly accused of abuse. He said Department of Health guidance on the condition was "flawed" because it did not highlight the risk and potential consequences of wrongful diagnosis. Lord Howe said: "I think we have reached the point where only a public inquiry will sort the matter out. "Obviously, the best interests of the child should always prevail, but my worry is that MSBP is based on unsound science in that the criteria for diagnosing it are so vague, imprecise and subjective that they carry an unacceptably high risk of a wrong diagnosis." | 
