MMR jabs & medicals ?

[karaoke]

An investigation is currently underway into the alledged

illegal administration of single MMR vaccine innoculations given

to children in 'clinics' in Sheffield & Elstree. The 'clinics' have now

been shutdown.

The 'Doctor' involved is under criminal investigation by

Hertsmere police, and is thought to have absconded to Australia.

Would this be the same 'Doctor' who has been ripping off pilots

both private & commercial for years, charging for procedures

not carried out at grossly inflated prices.

I hope the CAA medical department take note and make their

own investigation into this mans possibly illegal AME activities

over many decades. Some of you may even find your medical is

null & void !! Check with the CAA medics now !!

Gerrupta Singh.

[Archard]

I never went to the doctor concerned, but I was not aware there was a problem with the aviation side of his practice. I thought it was just to do with provision of the MMR jabs.

Also, it is a free market and one only has to enquire as to the cost of medicals before committing to one doctor or another, so it must be down to each individual to decide if they want to be ripped off or not.

And lastly, I would have thought that posession of a medical certificate was all that was required for the law to be complied with. In other words, how is the laymen supposed to know all the criteria required for the grant of a certificate and whether or not they were met in each case?

Returning to the doctor concerned for a moment, I believe his crime was not mixing the ingredients individually and within an hour of administration, but preparing a batch in advance and not in sight of the recipient. However, I might be wrong on this as I am not a doctor and have not followed the case particularly closely.

This is just to add to the debate!

Paul A.

[moleslayer]

This is how the BBC reported it. The Doctor concerned is named, and his photograph printed. The TV news item also showed footage of the drug being administered by the Doc.



Click here: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1803232.stm)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2862237.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/3008975.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3055756.stm

Moley.

[karaoke]

"International Flight Training News" exists to provide information on behalf of flight training organisations, safety groups, and to people who are planning to learn to fly for either a career, or recreationally, or who intend to upgrade existing ratings.

The current edition carries this headline................

UP to 300 pilots – including those flying large passenger jets - could be flying illegally because their recently gained medical certificates were not issued by a qualified aviation doctor. Several sources within the flight training industry put the number at anything between 200 and 300. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says it is aware of the situation but claims the figure “is no more than 50.” But whatever the actual number, the implications for pilots whose medical certificates do not meet the rules are enormous – for example, if they had a crash their insurance companies could refuse to pay out on the grounds that they were flying illegally, and the CAA could ground them for the same reason. It all stems from a situation in which Dr David Pugh, who under the business name Lifeline Care ran clinics at Elstree Aerodrome, near London, and in Sheffield, arranged for locums (ie stand in) doctors to carry out aviation medical examinations (AMEs) and issue certificates to those who reached the required standards, whilst he took a nine-month holiday in Australia. The problem was that only one of the doctors was an Aviation Medical Examiner. The others were general practitioners without this aviation ‘rating.’ And this is not allowed under the rules for issuing the certificates – an AME has to do the examination and sign the certificate. No other doctors are supposed to do this, even though their medical skills might allow them to carry out the examination. The manager of a leading flight training school said: ”We have pilots flying with us who had their medicals done at the Elstree clinic when Dr Pugh was not there and who have subsequently discovered that the doctors involved were not qualified to do the medical or issue the certificates. This is a scandal. We certainly know that the total number of pilots runs into several dozen but we firmly believe it could be 200, or even as high as 300. Most of them just don’t know that their certificates have been improperly issued, and therefore they do not realise that they are flying illegally. There are all sorts or implications and ramifications for these pilots and the CAA should act as firmly as possible.” The owner and Chief flying Instructor of a flying school in the north of England said: “Just how many pilots are involved is impossible to say as we gather that Dr Pugh claims that his records have been lost. We certainly knows of three from our school, and eight or nine from others schools in the north who all had the medicals at his clinics. The CAA should get to the bottom of this and help pilots who have got these certificates by covering the cost of them having another medical examination.” The CAA said initially: “We are aware of the issue are looking into the case. Dr Pugh has resigned his AME.” Pressed on this point they said he had resigned of his own accord and they had not forced him to do so. Last week the CAA said that they believed the number of pilots involved to be around 50 and that they were ‘satisfied’ about the certificates issued by Lifeline Care’s clinics when Dr Pugh was not there. “If any pilot has a certificate that was issued by the clinics then the sensible thing is for them to contact the CAA’s medical department to discuss the matter. I think we would be supportive in any way we could if another medical has to be carried out.” Dr Pugh is 53 and is a qualified pilot who flew most weekends. He was medical director of Lifeline Care, which ran a private clinic based within buildings owned by the Cabair Group at Elstree Aerodrome (this one called the Elstree Aero-Medical Centre) and another at the Hillsborough Sports Arena in Sheffield. He was an approved Aviation Medical Examiner and carried out AMEs at both Elstree and in Sheffield. He also charged a minimum of £70 a time - sometimes gong as high as £175 - to give children vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella. Some 1,013 vaccinations were given. But blood tests revealed that nearly all of the children had not gained immunity from these diseases as a result of the treatment. The Mail on Sunday ran revealing articles about his activities and Alister Munro, manager of the Breakspear Hospital in Hemel Hempstead, said: “We have done 60 blood tests for children vaccinated at the Lifeline Care clinics. Most came back with no immunity.” The newspaper claimed that Dr Pugh had sent parents falsified documents. When Cabair saw the newspaper’s stories they demanded that he vacated the premises. Police were called in and interviewed Dr Pugh, who then disappeared – it is thought that he went to Ghana – but he later returned to the UK and has now been charged with obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception, and has appeared in court. In May 1999 he was subject of an IVA – an agreement that an individual can make with creditors to stave off bankruptcy – after a hospital where he had a General Practitioners’ practice was closed. His clinics are being investigated by both the General Medical Council and by the National Care Standards Commission, which monitors standards at private clinics and which is also looking into Dr Pugh’s claims to have administered 9,000 doses of the unlicensed drug Secretin to 1,500 autistic children.

If you have a medical issued by this man, get in touch with the CAA...........now!!