Talk:Andrew Wakefield

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[edit] FRCS?

I emailed the Royal College of Surgeons to ask about this - Mr Wakefield hasn't been an FRCS since July 1996 (two years before the publication of the famous paper) - he stopped paying his dues (which is fine) and thus became not a member. They asked him to return his certificate (which one is supposed to do, but they can't enforce it), but he didn't. Thus, for him to claim the initials "FRCS" is simply incorrect. You can check the RCS register here, to see if someone really is an FRCS: http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/membership/find-a-surgeon .

Tagging yourself FRCS without being one is, I think, illegal in the UK. In the US, those initials don't have any legal weight in themselves, so it would only count as illegal if he were using the initials to commit actual fraud. IANAL of course.

I don't know how the RCS feels about this, but I suspect they're not best pleased, particularly if people (me) are interested enough to check with them - David Gerard (talk) 12:16, 12 January 2012 (UTC)

Not sure if it's a protected term but it would be fraudulent. Scarlet A.pngpathetic 12:55, 12 January 2012 (UTC)
I can't see clear legal evidence it's a protected term in the UK. I expect the question doesn't come up a huge amount - and if a real doctor practiced surgery without being an FRCS (possibly having ignored renewal reminders), I'd assume they'd just get struck off by the GMC quick smart - David Gerard (talk) 13:01, 12 January 2012 (UTC)
According to page 3 of this document from the GMC - "With the introduction of the licence, it is now a criminal offence to undertake any activities without a licence for which UK law requires a doctor to hold registration with a licence (such as prescribing or signing statutory certificates).  It is also a criminal offence to pretend to hold registration either with or without a licence when this is not the case. Both offences may lead to prosecution." The GMC website has this regarding the registration of AW. Steven Kavanagh (talk) 13:52, 12 January 2012 (UTC)
I got a reply from the RCS about the legality of using FRCS after one's name - "There is no law that prevents someone doing this - but clearly if someone is offering a service and is using a title to imply skill and ability to the public then that would be fraudulent." Steven Kavanagh (talk) 09:55, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

[edit] Conflict of interest

Nothing specific about Wakefield working on a competitor to the MMR vaccine himself? (now who's part of Big Pharma, eh?) --Seth Peck (talk) 17:10, 2 December 2013 (UTC)

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