BBC Spotlight last night showed an investigation into why child psychiatrist Dr Morris Fraser was not struck off by the General Medical Council, despite being convicted twice in the 1970s of child abuse. He was the senior psychiatric registrar at the Royal Victoria Hospital’s child guidance clinic in Belfast, while also writing a book about how the Troubles affected children.
South Belfast MLA Mrs Bradshaw said it was disturbing how easy it appeared for Dr Fraser to access children despite his convictions.
“It is clear there were a catalogue of failures which allowed this man to get away without being held to account for his crimes, while exposing children to the highest levels of danger.
“I will be asking the Health Minister if she can give assurances she will be engaging fully with the General Medical Council to identify what went wrong with its internal processes and what measures have been put in place to prevent any future repeats.
“We need to ensure governance and accountability structures across the health and social care sector are robust, while all policies and practices around safeguarding our children and vulnerable adults are adhered to without exception.”