Doctor’s use of drug on boy justified, inquiry told

A doctor’s use of a drug on a child, which has a known risk of stunting growth, was justified because of the “exceptional circumstances” involved, an inquiry has heard.

Adam Jacobus Smith prescribed the 11-year-old boy with the drug Neotigason to treat his psoriasis, who was identified only as Patient D.

His barrister, Gabriel Gavigan, told an inquiry that Patient D’s mother had described her son’s hands as being like claws, that he was falling behind in school, and that his self-esteem was suffering.