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Raj Persaud

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Rajendra Persaud
Raj Persaud at Humber Mouth, 30 June 2007.
Born (1963-05-13) 13 May 1963 (age 61)
Reading, England
Occupation(s)Psychiatrist,
TV and radio presenter
Websitehttp://www.rajpersaud.com

Prof. Rajendra (Raj) Persaud (born 13 May, 1963 of Caribbean parents of Indian origin in Reading, Berkshire) is a British consultant psychiatrist, broadcaster, and author of popular books about psychiatry. He is well known for raising public awareness of psychiatric and mental health issues, and for promoting psychotropic drug treatments in the general media.

On 16 June 2008 Persaud admitted to plagiarism when he faced the General Medical Council's "fitness to practise panel".[1]. Professor Richard Bentall, whose work was passed off as Persaud's own, told the GMC tribunal that he was "flabbergasted" at the blatancy of Persaud's deceit.[2]. On 19 June 2008 he was found guilty of dishonesty and bringing the profession into disrepute by the GMC.[3]. It was announced on 20 June by the GMC that his fitness to practise has been impaired. [4]

He pronounces his surname /pɚˈsɔːd/ "per-SAWED". He lives in Central London and is married to an eye surgeon who works at Moorfields Hospital. They have a son and a daughter.[5] His mother is the novelist Lakshmi Persaud.

Academic career

Persaud was educated at the Haberdashers' Aske's School (a private school in Elstree, just north of London) and at University College London where he read his medical degree. His first year at UCL was marred by failure after he was forced to re-sit his exams in basic anatomy. He told the British Medical Journal that this left him "traumatised". He claims to hold more than eight degrees and diplomas, including a first class honours degree in Psychology (1984), a Diploma & MPhil in Philosophy, an MSc in statistics, and a degree in the history of medicine. [citation needed] In 2000 he was awarded with a UCL Fellowship, and in 2005 made Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

He is a consultant psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust and 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.

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 Morning. 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. [6] [7]

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.

Plagiarism

In 2005 Persaud was accused of plagiarism. 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.

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 [8]. The paper blamed a "production error" and altered the article in its web archives to properly attribute Kent.[9]

In December 2005, it was announced that two of his articles would be retracted from the British Medical Journal and the Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry publications, while his work was reviewed by a panel from the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College.

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."[10]

Later that month, Persaud resigned as presenter of the BBC Radio 4 programme All In The Mind because of the ongoing controversy,[11] but returned temporarily in 2007.[12]

In December 2007, the issue of alleged plagiarism emerged once more, with Persaud being summoned to appear before the General Medical Council[13].

In June 2008 Persaud admitted to plagiarising four articles for his book From The Edge Of The Couch. However, he denied that his actions brought his profession into disrepute[14]. Persaud appeared before the GMC from 16 June 2008.[15] He was found guilty of bringing the profession into disrepute by the GMC on 19th June 2008 - a punishment is yet to be decided.[16]

At the hearing, Dr Anthony Morgan, the chair of the General Medical Council (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."[17]

On the 20th June 2008, the General Medical Council came to the conclusion that Dr Persaud's 'fitness to practise is impaired' [18] after he admitted to copy other expert's research. Further investigation is to follow to guide any punishment.

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

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Media doctor admits to plagiarism". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  2. ^ "Persaud's blatant cribs were flabbergasting, professor tells tribunal". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  3. ^ "Media doctor guilty of disrepute". BBC. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  4. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7465539.stm
  5. ^ "Professor Raj Persaud: Visiting Gresham Professor of Psychiatry". Gresham College. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  6. ^ "A few deaths may be the price we'll have to pay for saving resources". The Independent (London). Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  7. ^ "King of the media shrink pack?". British Medical Journal. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  8. ^ "TV psychiatrist's bosses investigate plagiarism claims". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  9. ^ "Raj Persaud: A dangerous war on psychiatry". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  10. ^ "Statement regarding Dr Raj Persaud". King's College London. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  11. ^ "Plagiarism row dogs radio doctor". BBC NEWS. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  12. ^ "All in the Mind". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  13. ^ "Psychiatrist to face plagiarism charges at GMC hearing". The Guardian.
  14. ^ "Media doctor admits to plagiarism". BBC NEWS. 2008-06-16. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  15. ^ Martin Wainwright "Media psychiatrist fights for his job", The Guardian, 17 June 2008. Retrieved on 17 June 2008.
  16. ^ "Media doctor guilty of disrepute". BBC. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  17. ^ "Media doctor guilty of disrepute". BBC. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  18. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7465539.stm


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