Fraudulent doctor jailed
The mother of a toddler who was one of hundreds to receive an ineffective vaccine from fraudulent GP David Pugh has spoken of her disappointment at his nine-month jail sentence.
Denise Goldsmith, 32, from Mill Hill, paid for her 18-month old son Noah to receive the single jab vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) at Dr David Pugh's clinic, the Elstree Aeromedical Centre, in September 2002.
But Noah was struck down with measles and spent six days at Barnet Hospital last February. As his parents had told the hospital he was immunised against measles, doctors thought he could be suffering from meningitis or Kawasaki disease, which includes symptoms of sores and peeling skin. He was put on a high daily dose of aspirin and had a heart scan until a saliva swab showed it was measles.
Pugh, 55, pleaded guilty in November to faking four children's blood test results to prove the effectiveness of the single MMR jabs in February 2003 at his clinic. He was sentenced last Wednesday at Cambridge Crown Court.
Mrs Goldsmith said: "I don't think his sentence was long enough. I was told it could be a maximum of ten years. But thank God he has been struck off so he can never practise again."
Pugh, who is from Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire but has been living in Runaway Bay, Queensland, Australia, sold thousands of separate vaccinations to parents concerned that autism could be linked to the all-in-one MMR jab.
The clinic treated more than 250 children a week, with a turnover of about £17,500 a week at the height of the autism scare in 2002.
He then took blood tests from children whose parents wanted to check if they were immunised against measles, mumps and rubella after receiving separate vaccinations at his clinic.
The blood was tested at a clinic in Harley Street and when the results were faxed back, Pugh forged some documents to show the children were immune when they were not.
11:01am Thursday 30th December 2004
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