Raj Persaud
Encyclopedia
Rajendra Persaud also known as Raj Persaud (Hindi: राज परसौद), born 13 May 1963, Reading
, Berkshire
is an English consultant psychiatrist
, broadcaster, and author of popular books about psychiatry
.
Raj Peraud is the son of Trinidadian mother Dr. Lakshmi Persaud
, novelist, of Indian origin, and Guyanese
father Prof. Bishnodat Persaud. He is well known for raising public awareness of psychiatric and mental health issues in the general media; and has published five popular books, and has received numerous awards.
On 16 June 2008 Persaud admitted to inadequately acknowledging articles mentioned in his book From The Edge Of The Couch, but denied deliberate plagiarism
when he faced the General Medical Council
's "fitness to practise panel". Passages of Professor Richard Bentall
's work had been copied without quotation marks or other adequate reference on the corresponding pages of one of Persaud's popular books, although Persaud had obtained the author's permission to include the material. On 19 June 2008 he was found guilty of dishonesty and bringing the profession into disrepute by the GMC, but it was accepted that there was no financial incentive at work. It was announced on 20 June by the GMC that his fitness to practise was impaired, and he was suspended from practising for three months.
He pronounces his surname pɚˈsɔːd . He lives in Central London
and is married to an eye surgeon who works at Moorfields Eye Hospital
. They have a son and a daughter.
in Elstree
, just north of London) and at University College London
, where he read for his degrees in medicine and psychology. His first year at UCL was marred by failure after he was forced to re-sit the examinations in anatomy, which he attributed later to availing himself too freely of the other educational opportunities there. He told the British Medical Journal
that this left him “traumatised,” and he compensated by virtually taking up residence in the college library and eventually achieving at least three degrees, four diplomas and a membership examination:
BSc (Hons) London 1983 (1st Class Honours in Psychology: an intercalated degree)
MB BS London 1986
DHMSA 1988 (Diploma in History of Medicine, Society of Apothecaries)
Dip Phil 1990 (Poss. University of London External System: equivalent to 1st year of BA)
MRCPsych 1990 (Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
)
MPhil London 1991 (Prob. in psychiatry, through the Institute of Psychiatry
)
Diploma in Health Economics 1994
MSc 1995 City University London (Statistics)
He was a psychiatric trainee at the Bethlem Royal Hospital
and Maudsley Hospital
in London, a research scholar and post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins
Hospital in the USA in 1990 and a research worker at the Institute of Neurology of UCL. In 2000 he was awarded a UCL Fellowship, and in 2005 made a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He is also a Fellow of the Society of Apothecaries.
Persaud resigned from his position as consultant psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust in October 2008, following a 3-month suspension by the General Medical Council for dishonesty. He is a Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry at the University of London and has a Visiting Professor role as Gresham Professor
for Public Understanding of Psychiatry. In 2002 he was voted one of the top ten psychiatrists in the UK by a survey of the Institute of Psychiatry
and the Royal College of Psychiatrists
, published in the Independent on Sunday newspaper.
. In addition to writing regularly for The Daily Telegraph
and The Independent
, Persaud also had columns in the Times Educational Supplement
, Cosmopolitan and Canary Wharf CityLife magazine. He is a former presenter of the BBC Radio 4
psychology and psychiatry programme All in the Mind
. He was a presenter for Travels of the Mind for BBC World Service.
Persaud has appeared on numerous talk-shows such as Richard & Judy and Anne & Nick promoting psychiatric treatments for mental health-related issues. With the GP Mark Porter
, he co-presented the live medical-talk and phone-in TV programme Doctor, Doctor
on Channel Five.
He has written several books, including his guide to romance, Simply Irresistible: The Psychology of Seduction – How to Catch and Keep your Perfect Partner. In 2007, he was the consulting editor of a book produced by The Royal College of Psychiatrists called The Mind: A user's guide.
Persaud's media work has earned him a mixed reception. Francis Wheen
, then a Guardian
columnist claimed he is "paid a lot of money for stating the obvious". The comedian, GP
and columnist Dr Phil Hammond
though, applauds Persaud for his populist appeal. Hammond believes he is a "good media communicator" for the psychiatric industry, albeit lacking the sophistication of the late Anthony Clare
.
Persaud has worked extensively in the NGO sector. He is a patron of OCD-UK, a British charity for people affected by Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Persaud also works with ActionAid
, and recently visited Bangladesh with them. He visits other developing nations to promote a psycho-pharmacological approach to mental health.
. Thomas Blass, professor of psychology and proponent of the psychiatric Milgram Test
at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, alleged that a large proportion of Persaud's article in Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry (Volume 9, Issue 2) had been extracted without correct reference from Blass's original work on Stanley Milgram
's 1963 'compliance' experiments, as had an earlier article in the Times Educational Supplement. Persaud claimed this had been due to an editing rather than a typographical error, and offered to apologise for not crediting Blass. Persaud had invited Blass to introduce Blass's work on Stanley Milgram to a wider audience through Radio 4's "All in the Mind" program which Persaud hosted and the interview was broadcast on November 30, 2004.
An article about Scientology
's relationship to psychiatry in The Independent of June 30, 2005 was found to have used arguments from discussions of a publication of the Canadian Professor Stephen A. Kent
without total and complete attribution. The paper blamed a "production error" and altered the article in its web archives to properly attribute Kent.
In December 2005, it was announced that two of his articles would be retracted from the British Medical Journal
and Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry publications, while his work was reviewed by a panel from the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College.
Following a report by Brian Deer
in The Sunday Times
, in April 2006, the College decided that the allegations against Persaud "were of a nature which could be addressed at 'departmental level' (i.e. Institute of Psychiatry) without the need to initiate a formal inquiry." Later that month, Persaud resigned as presenter of the BBC Radio 4
programme All In The Mind because of the ongoing controversy, but returned temporarily in 2007.
In December 2007, the same issues of alleged plagiarism were brought to the attention of the General Medical Council
by a group affiliated to the Scientology movement, who have a noted anti-psychiatric position. concerning the work of Professor Richard Bentall, who had published an anti-psychiatric book. Bentall told the GMC tribunal that he was "flabbergasted" at the blatancy of Persaud's deceit, which, he told the GMC panel, had come to his attention in a phone call from Brian Deer
. However, Bentall noted that Persaud had asked him permission to quote his work, which he had given, and Bentall had been sent a copy of the book.
In the hearing in June 2008, Persaud admitted to inadequately acknowledging four articles for his book From The Edge Of The Couch, but denied that his actions brought his profession into disrepute. The book attempts to popularise 100 famous cases in psychiatry. Persaud appeared before the GMC from 16 June, where Dr Anthony Morgan, chair of the GMC Fitness to Practise panel told Persaud:
Found guilty of bringing the profession into disrepute on 19 June, on 20 June, the GMC came to the conclusion that Dr Persaud's "fitness to practise is impaired," and he was suspended from practising for three months.
It emerged in the judgement that the matter was brought to the attention of the GMC by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights
, an organisation founded by senior members of the Scientology movement.
In summing up, the Chairman of the GMC Panel, Dr Anthony Morgan, explained that in deciding on the length of the suspension, the panel took into account that there had been no patient harm, that his plagiarism was not financially motivated, that it did not relate to research fraud and that it was unlikely to be repeated.
In a statement issued through the Medical Protection Society
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5j0AON_Lf__tTZ0E9Bn2qSnhteMlw, Dr Persaud said: "I am saddened by the findings and decision of the GMC, which relates to material published in 2004 and 2005. These matters have been under investigation since 2005.
"As I said during the hearing, I accept that my use of the work of some authors lacked adequate acknowledgement. I have apologised repeatedly for this during the hearing, and I apologise for this now. I am saddened that this occurred while I was seeking to promote the work of academics to the wider public. I am grateful for the support of so many colleagues, patients and members of the public who have contacted the GMC and myself to offer their support to me at this difficult time. Mental illness and psychological problems are much misunderstood, but extremely common predicaments which still require energetic efforts to de-stigmatise. I hope to be allowed to continue with this work in the future."
, it was revealed that in addition to alleged plagiarism that Persaud attributed to a "cutting and pasting" error in a book he published in 2003 and another instance of plagiarism in 2005 which he blamed on the sub-editors at the Times Educational Supplement
, back in 1995 Persaud had allegedly lifted many instances of phrases, observations and statistics from a book on prostitution by Sheron Boyle for a piece he wrote for the Daily Mail
. Private Eye has also alleged that Persaud also made unacknowledged and ill-informed changes to chapters written by other psychiatrists for a book he was editing, causing at least one of them to threaten to withdraw from the project.
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
is an English consultant psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
, broadcaster, and author of popular books about psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
.
Raj Peraud is the son of Trinidadian mother Dr. Lakshmi Persaud
Lakshmi Persaud
Lakshmi Persaud is a Indo-Caribbean novelist. She was born in Trinidad and Tobago in 1939. She is classified also as a novelist of the Indian diaspora. Some of her writings are on Indo-Caribbean themes as well as themes of cultural change. She has published four novels...
, novelist, of Indian origin, and Guyanese
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
father Prof. Bishnodat Persaud. He is well known for raising public awareness of psychiatric and mental health issues in the general media; and has published five popular books, and has received numerous awards.
On 16 June 2008 Persaud admitted to inadequately acknowledging articles mentioned in his book From The Edge Of The Couch, but denied deliberate plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
when he faced the General Medical Council
General Medical Council
The General Medical Council registers and regulates doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It has the power to revoke or restrict a doctor's registration if it deems them unfit to practise...
's "fitness to practise panel". Passages of Professor Richard Bentall
Richard Bentall
Richard Bentall is currently appointed as a Chair of Clinical Psychology at the University of Bangor in Wales, UK and is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist. Born in Sheffield, he attended the University College of North Wales, Bangor as an undergraduate before registering for a Ph.D. in...
's work had been copied without quotation marks or other adequate reference on the corresponding pages of one of Persaud's popular books, although Persaud had obtained the author's permission to include the material. On 19 June 2008 he was found guilty of dishonesty and bringing the profession into disrepute by the GMC, but it was accepted that there was no financial incentive at work. It was announced on 20 June by the GMC that his fitness to practise was impaired, and he was suspended from practising for three months.
He pronounces his surname pɚˈsɔːd . He lives in Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
and is married to an eye surgeon who works at Moorfields Eye Hospital
Moorfields Eye Hospital
Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS eye hospital located in London, United Kingdom. It is the oldest and largest eye hospital in the world and is internationally renowned for its comprehensive clinical and research activities...
. They have a son and a daughter.
Academic career
Persaud was educated at the Haberdashers' Aske's School (an independent schoolIndependent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
in Elstree
Elstree
Elstree is a village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire on the A5 road, about 10 miles north of London. In 2001, its population was 4,765, and forms part of the civil parish of Elstree and Borehamwood, originally known simply as Elstree....
, just north of London) and at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, where he read for his degrees in medicine and psychology. His first year at UCL was marred by failure after he was forced to re-sit the examinations in anatomy, which he attributed later to availing himself too freely of the other educational opportunities there. He told the British Medical Journal
British Medical Journal
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
that this left him “traumatised,” and he compensated by virtually taking up residence in the college library and eventually achieving at least three degrees, four diplomas and a membership examination:
BSc (Hons) London 1983 (1st Class Honours in Psychology: an intercalated degree)
MB BS London 1986
DHMSA 1988 (Diploma in History of Medicine, Society of Apothecaries)
Dip Phil 1990 (Poss. University of London External System: equivalent to 1st year of BA)
MRCPsych 1990 (Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
Royal College of Psychiatrists
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom responsible for representing psychiatrists, psychiatric research and providing public information about mental health problems...
)
MPhil London 1991 (Prob. in psychiatry, through the Institute of Psychiatry
Institute of Psychiatry
The Institute of Psychiatry is a research institution dedicated to discovering what causes mental illness and diseases of the brain. In addition, its aim is to help identify new treatments for them and ways to prevent them in the first place...
)
Diploma in Health Economics 1994
MSc 1995 City University London (Statistics)
He was a psychiatric trainee at the Bethlem Royal Hospital
Bethlem Royal Hospital
The Bethlem Royal Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located in London, United Kingdom and part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Although no longer based at its original location, it is recognised as the world's first and oldest institution to specialise in mental illnesses....
and Maudsley Hospital
Maudsley Hospital
The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in South London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the country...
in London, a research scholar and post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins was a wealthy American entrepreneur, philanthropist and abolitionist of 19th-century Baltimore, Maryland, now most noted for his philanthropic creation of the institutions that bear his name, namely the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the Johns Hopkins University and its associated...
Hospital in the USA in 1990 and a research worker at the Institute of Neurology of UCL. In 2000 he was awarded a UCL Fellowship, and in 2005 made a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He is also a Fellow of the Society of Apothecaries.
Persaud resigned from his position as consultant psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust in October 2008, following a 3-month suspension by the General Medical Council for dishonesty. He is a Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry at the University of London and has a Visiting Professor role as Gresham Professor
Gresham College
Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in central London, England. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham and today it hosts over 140 free public lectures every year within the City of London.-History:Sir Thomas Gresham,...
for Public Understanding of Psychiatry. In 2002 he was voted one of the top ten psychiatrists in the UK by a survey of the Institute of Psychiatry
Institute of Psychiatry
The Institute of Psychiatry is a research institution dedicated to discovering what causes mental illness and diseases of the brain. In addition, its aim is to help identify new treatments for them and ways to prevent them in the first place...
and the Royal College of Psychiatrists
Royal College of Psychiatrists
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom responsible for representing psychiatrists, psychiatric research and providing public information about mental health problems...
, published in the Independent on Sunday newspaper.
Media career
Persaud regularly appeared on radio and TV programmes, as either interviewee or presenter, and was resident psychiatrist on the well-known daytime television programme This MorningThis Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
. In addition to writing regularly for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
and The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, Persaud also had columns in the Times Educational Supplement
Times Educational Supplement
The Times Educational Supplement is a weekly UK publication aimed primarily at school teachers in the UK. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in The Times newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 1914, the supplement became a separate publication selling for 1 penny.The TES...
, Cosmopolitan and Canary Wharf CityLife magazine. He is a former presenter of the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
psychology and psychiatry programme All in the Mind
All in the Mind (BBC radio)
All in the Mind is a half-hour magazine radio program about psychology and psychiatry, produced by the BBC's Science Unit. It is currently presented by Claudia Hammond. Former presenters have included Dr Raj Persaud, Dr Kwame McKenzie, and Dr Tanya Byron, and the first presenter Professor Anthony...
. He was a presenter for Travels of the Mind for BBC World Service.
Persaud has appeared on numerous talk-shows such as Richard & Judy and Anne & Nick promoting psychiatric treatments for mental health-related issues. With the GP Mark Porter
Mark Porter (doctor)
Mark Porter, MBE is a GP and medical correspondent for The Times. He also has a weekly programme on Radio 4 called Case Notes and joined The One Show on BBC One in 2011....
, he co-presented the live medical-talk and phone-in TV programme Doctor, Doctor
Doctor, Doctor (Five TV)
Doctor, Doctor is a live talk show broadcast on British television on Five hosted by the presenters Mark Porter and Raj Persaud...
on Channel Five.
He has written several books, including his guide to romance, Simply Irresistible: The Psychology of Seduction – How to Catch and Keep your Perfect Partner. In 2007, he was the consulting editor of a book produced by The Royal College of Psychiatrists called The Mind: A user's guide.
Persaud's media work has earned him a mixed reception. Francis Wheen
Francis Wheen
Francis James Baird Wheen is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster.-Early life and education:Wheen was born into an army family and educated at two independent schools: Copthorne Preparatory School near Crawley, West Sussex and Harrow School in north west London.-Life and career:Running...
, then a Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
columnist claimed he is "paid a lot of money for stating the obvious". The comedian, GP
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
and columnist Dr Phil Hammond
Phil Hammond (comedian)
Dr Philip Hammond is a general practitioner who has become noted as a comedian and commentator on health issues in the United Kingdom. Hammond was educated at Marlborough Grammar School, St John's Comprehensive, Marlborough, and Marlborough College...
though, applauds Persaud for his populist appeal. Hammond believes he is a "good media communicator" for the psychiatric industry, albeit lacking the sophistication of the late Anthony Clare
Anthony Clare
Anthony Ward Clare was an Irish psychiatrist well known in the UK and Ireland as a presenter of radio and TV programmes.-Career:...
.
Persaud has worked extensively in the NGO sector. He is a patron of OCD-UK, a British charity for people affected by Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Persaud also works with ActionAid
ActionAid
ActionAid was founded in 1972 as a child sponsorship charity when 88 UK supporters sponsored 88 children in India and Kenya, the focus primarily being to provide children with an education. Global accounts are now reported in Euros and in 2007 and 2008 turnover was close to 180m Euros...
, and recently visited Bangladesh with them. He visits other developing nations to promote a psycho-pharmacological approach to mental health.
Plagiarism
In 2005 Persaud was accused of plagiarismPlagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
. Thomas Blass, professor of psychology and proponent of the psychiatric Milgram Test
Milgram experiment
The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of notable social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that...
at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, alleged that a large proportion of Persaud's article in Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry (Volume 9, Issue 2) had been extracted without correct reference from Blass's original work on Stanley Milgram
Stanley Milgram
Stanley Milgram was an American social psychologist most notable for his controversial study known as the Milgram Experiment. The study was conducted in the 1960s during Milgram's professorship at Yale...
's 1963 'compliance' experiments, as had an earlier article in the Times Educational Supplement. Persaud claimed this had been due to an editing rather than a typographical error, and offered to apologise for not crediting Blass. Persaud had invited Blass to introduce Blass's work on Stanley Milgram to a wider audience through Radio 4's "All in the Mind" program which Persaud hosted and the interview was broadcast on November 30, 2004.
An article about Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
's relationship to psychiatry in The Independent of June 30, 2005 was found to have used arguments from discussions of a publication of the Canadian Professor Stephen A. Kent
Stephen A. Kent
Stephen A. Kent, is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He researches new and alternative religions, and has published research on several such groups including the Children of God , the Church of Scientology, and newer faiths...
without total and complete attribution. The paper blamed a "production error" and altered the article in its web archives to properly attribute Kent.
In December 2005, it was announced that two of his articles would be retracted from the British Medical Journal
British Medical Journal
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
and Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry publications, while his work was reviewed by a panel from the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College.
Following a report by Brian Deer
Brian Deer
Brian Deer is a British investigative reporter, best known for inquiries into the drug industry, medicine and social issues for the Sunday Times of London.- Career :...
in The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, in April 2006, the College decided that the allegations against Persaud "were of a nature which could be addressed at 'departmental level' (i.e. Institute of Psychiatry) without the need to initiate a formal inquiry." Later that month, Persaud resigned as presenter of the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
programme All In The Mind because of the ongoing controversy, but returned temporarily in 2007.
In December 2007, the same issues of alleged plagiarism were brought to the attention of the General Medical Council
General Medical Council
The General Medical Council registers and regulates doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It has the power to revoke or restrict a doctor's registration if it deems them unfit to practise...
by a group affiliated to the Scientology movement, who have a noted anti-psychiatric position. concerning the work of Professor Richard Bentall, who had published an anti-psychiatric book. Bentall told the GMC tribunal that he was "flabbergasted" at the blatancy of Persaud's deceit, which, he told the GMC panel, had come to his attention in a phone call from Brian Deer
Brian Deer
Brian Deer is a British investigative reporter, best known for inquiries into the drug industry, medicine and social issues for the Sunday Times of London.- Career :...
. However, Bentall noted that Persaud had asked him permission to quote his work, which he had given, and Bentall had been sent a copy of the book.
In the hearing in June 2008, Persaud admitted to inadequately acknowledging four articles for his book From The Edge Of The Couch, but denied that his actions brought his profession into disrepute. The book attempts to popularise 100 famous cases in psychiatry. Persaud appeared before the GMC from 16 June, where Dr Anthony Morgan, chair of the GMC Fitness to Practise panel told Persaud:
"You are an eminent psychiatrist with a distinguished academic record who has combined a clinical career as a consultant psychiatrist with work in the media and journalism. The panel is of the view that you must have known that your actions in allowing the work of others to be seen as though it was your own would be considered dishonest by ordinary people. The panel has therefore determined that your actions were dishonest in accordance with the accepted definition of dishonesty in these proceedings. The panel has determined that your actions, in plagiarising the work of others, were liable to bring the profession into disrepute."
Found guilty of bringing the profession into disrepute on 19 June, on 20 June, the GMC came to the conclusion that Dr Persaud's "fitness to practise is impaired," and he was suspended from practising for three months.
It emerged in the judgement that the matter was brought to the attention of the GMC by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights
Citizens Commission on Human Rights
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights is an advocacy group established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz. The group promotes several video campaigns which support views against psychiatry...
, an organisation founded by senior members of the Scientology movement.
In summing up, the Chairman of the GMC Panel, Dr Anthony Morgan, explained that in deciding on the length of the suspension, the panel took into account that there had been no patient harm, that his plagiarism was not financially motivated, that it did not relate to research fraud and that it was unlikely to be repeated.
In a statement issued through the Medical Protection Society
Medical Protection Society
The Medical Protection Society is a not for profit organisation which offers legal and ethical help to medical and dental professionals...
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5j0AON_Lf__tTZ0E9Bn2qSnhteMlw, Dr Persaud said: "I am saddened by the findings and decision of the GMC, which relates to material published in 2004 and 2005. These matters have been under investigation since 2005.
"As I said during the hearing, I accept that my use of the work of some authors lacked adequate acknowledgement. I have apologised repeatedly for this during the hearing, and I apologise for this now. I am saddened that this occurred while I was seeking to promote the work of academics to the wider public. I am grateful for the support of so many colleagues, patients and members of the public who have contacted the GMC and myself to offer their support to me at this difficult time. Mental illness and psychological problems are much misunderstood, but extremely common predicaments which still require energetic efforts to de-stigmatise. I hope to be allowed to continue with this work in the future."
Other allegations of plagiarism
In the 11 July 2008 edition of Private EyePrivate Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
, it was revealed that in addition to alleged plagiarism that Persaud attributed to a "cutting and pasting" error in a book he published in 2003 and another instance of plagiarism in 2005 which he blamed on the sub-editors at the Times Educational Supplement
Times Educational Supplement
The Times Educational Supplement is a weekly UK publication aimed primarily at school teachers in the UK. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in The Times newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 1914, the supplement became a separate publication selling for 1 penny.The TES...
, back in 1995 Persaud had allegedly lifted many instances of phrases, observations and statistics from a book on prostitution by Sheron Boyle for a piece he wrote for the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
. Private Eye has also alleged that Persaud also made unacknowledged and ill-informed changes to chapters written by other psychiatrists for a book he was editing, causing at least one of them to threaten to withdraw from the project.
Awards
- Denis Hill Prize, 1991
- Osler Medal, 1991
- Fellow of University College London, 2000
- Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2004
- Tony Thistlethwaite Award Commendation for Excellence (Medical Journalists' Association), 2005
- Morris Markow Prize Royal College of Psychiatrists 2005
Publications
- Staying Sane: How to Make your Mind Work for You. September 1997 (Metro). ISBN 1900512386
- From the Edge of the Couch. March 2003 (Bantam Press). ISBN 0553813463 (Book containing plagiarised material)
- The Motivated Mind. March 2005 (Bantam Press). ISBN 0553813455
- Simply Irresistible: The Psychology of Seduction – How to Catch and Keep Your Perfect Partner. Jan 2007 (Bantam Press). ISBN 0593055888
- The Mind: A User's Guide. July 2007 (Bantam Press). ISBN 0593056353
External links
- rajpersaud.com, Personal website
- Transworld publishers' website
- Royal College of Psychiatrists book website
- Guardian news story about plagiarism
- Letter from a BMJ editor about plagiarism by Persaud
- Profile on NursinginPractice.com
- Raj Persaud talks to ..., Podcasts
- Video of his recent visit to Bangladesh with Action Aid.
- More on his recent visit to Bangladesh with Action Aid.
- Guardian opinion piece on Persaud