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rpautrey2 · Guest

Media doctor admits plagiarism

Psychiatrist and broadcaster Dr Raj Persaud has admitted plagiarising
material for a book and articles published under his name.

Dr Persaud, who practises in south London, faces a General Medical
Council hearing in Manchester.

The former Radio 4 presenter admitted plagiarising four articles for
his 2003 book "From the Edge Of The Couch".

But he denied that his actions were dishonest and were liable to bring
his profession into disrepute.

The articles, we say, speak for themselves and they all demonstrate
the extent Dr Persaud has appropriated the work of others as his own
Jeremy Donne QC
GMC counsel

Dr Persaud also admitted passing off other researchers' work as his
own in articles published in journals and national newspapers.

Jeremy Donne QC, GMC counsel, accused Dr Persaud of enhancing his own
reputation at the expense of the hard work and scholarship of other
people.

"The articles, we say, speak for themselves and they all demonstrate
the extent Dr Persaud has appropriated the work of others as his
own."

The 45-year-old psychiatrist was first seen alongside Richard Madeley
and Judy Finnegan in the high-profile ITV show This Morning in 1994.

He also hosted the Radio 4 programme All in the Mind, but stepped down
in 2006 amid continuing allegations of plagiarism, but returned for
several shows in 2007.

Allegations

Three years ago an article was withdrawn from Progress in Neurology
and Psychiatry after US professor Thomas Blass claimed that "over 50%
was my work".

At the time, Dr Persaud apologised for the error and told the Guardian
newspaper that it had been a cutting and pasting error which meant
some references had been omitted.

A second article was retracted by the British Medical Journal "owing
to unattributed use of text from other published sources".

As a result of the allegations Dr Persaud withdrew from an honorary
position as director of the now defunct Centre for Public Engagement
in Mental Health Sciences at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's
College London.

A King's College inquiry found that allegations of plagiarism against
Dr Persaud "had some substance", but decided no further action was
required.

Speaking at the GMC hearing on Monday, Mr Donne revealed that Dr
Persaud asked for and received permission to quote an article by a
Professor Bentall for his book.

He said: "Professor Bentall gave his permission assuming that Dr
Persaud would know that quotations would have appeared in parenthesis
and be properly attributed.

"Having seen the passage Professor Bentall was astonished that a
substantial portion of his paper had simply been copied into the book
in what he believes was a deliberate act of plagiarism."

Dr Persaud remains employed as a consultant psychiatrist for the South
London and Maudsley NHS Trust.

The GMC "fitness to practise panel" has the power to strike a doctor
off the register.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7452877.stm

Published: 2008/06/16 12:04:51 GMT

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