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The news that two doctors have been arrested and a house full of medical students has been allegedly raided in Liverpool in connection with the latest terrorist outrages, has no doubt shocked the nation. The medical profession, of which I am a member, is rightly expected by the general public to believe in the alleviation of suffering and the protection of life. So, for any of its members to be associated with such heinous acts is disturbing.
The Hippocratic oath, an ancient script written to give guidance to Greek physicians, is widely believed by patients to be the bedrock of ethical medical practice. In it, reference is made to doing no harm to patients. Following the oath is, however, not a requirement of medical practice in the UK. Indeed, part of the oath relates to not procuring an abortion for a woman, an act which some British doctors routinely undertake. Hence today, the General Medical Council (GMC) issues a document that details general principles of good medical practice. Closer analysis of this more modern text indicates that some of the alleged perpetrators of the terrorist attempts this weekend were not up to date with GMC guidelines. Either that, or they are just hypocrites of the worst kind.
If any doctor registered in this country has been found to be at all involved, indeed at all sympathetic, to these latest attempts to kill and maim innocent British civilians, the response of the government should be swift and severe. The NHS relies heavily upon doctors who have been trained abroad, often ironically from places in dire need of medical personnel. Our trust in those doctors needs protecting, for trust is the basis for any interaction between doctor and patient. These doctors and medical students will have eroded that trust if found to have been involved. Any possibility that an Iraqi-trained doctor came here to injure and take life indiscriminately is dreadful.
