No-show in ex-GP trial unbelievable

IT beggars belief that the statutory body responsible for protecting public health through the regulation of medical products failed to appear in court to prosecute a raft of 59 summonses against three defendants.

They included a controversial ex-doctor accused of supplying products without a license.

It is simply not good enough for the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) to say it was unaware that the case involving former Co Clare GP Paschal Carmody, who had been struck off the register last year, was before the court.

After all, a special sitting of Tralee District Court had been set aside for the hearing, and the necessary arrangements were made over a month ago.

Generally speaking, if the prosecution team was running late, an adjournment would be sought. For the IMB not to know the case was listed is incredible, especially since a discovery order was made against the board in March.

This farcical scenario conjures up the GUBU acronym grotesque, unprecedented, bizarre and unbelievable.

Yet, it is hard to imagine a more serious case for the IMB than one involving charges against a doctor struck off after being found guilty of professional misconduct.

In that instance, a complaint over the use of alternative medicine in the treatment of a man, who later died, was upheld by the Medical Council in 2004.

The disciplinary hearing focused on the ex-GP's involvement in the provision of alternative therapy to treat a patient with advanced cancer, and also over the use of chelation therapy to treat a patient who suffered from angina.

Basically, chelation therapy involves a series of intravenous infusions which patients have been led to believe are a valid alternative to established medical interventions such as coronary bypass surgery.

Earlier this week, the ex-doctor was before the District Court in Tralee on foot of a total of 25 summonses relating to the supply of medicinal products between December 2003 and November 2004 without IMB authorisation.

The board's failure to appear is mind-boggling. Given the amount of work, time and taxpayers' money spent investigating the alleged offences and preparing the charges, its absence was indefensible.

Among the products listed by IMB were St John's Wort, an alternative medicine used in the treatment of depression and the focus of major controversy here when it was made a prescription-only drug in January 2000.

A petition signed by 65,000 people called on the IMB to reverse its decision to axe over-the-counter sales. At the time, the board was accused of favouring the pharmaceutical companies, a charge it emphatically rejected.

Ephredine, another drug listed in the Carmody case, is also a prescription-only therapy used by tennis players and other athletes to burn off fat.

The list also includes melatonin, a popular hormonal therapy for treating jet-lag, sleep disturbances, seasonal affective disorder and cancer.

Also mentioned was gingko biloba, a herbal medicine widely used for treating cardiovascular problems, lung disorders and senility.

In the event, the case against all three defendants was struck out by the judge because there was no appearance for the prosecutor. The IMB should immediately apply for the matter to be re-entered for hearing.

In the interests of public safety, alternative medicine practitioners must be subject to strict regulation and Medical Council guidelines.

However, the Tralee debacle does not inspire confidence in the State body whose job it is to ensure the quality and, above all, the safety of medicines in Ireland.