Dr Hyams and the GMC

Dr Hyams' suspension was lifted on 18th August 2009 at a Fitness to Practise
Hearing where the panel determined that his fitness to practise was not
impaired.

He does not now practise in the UK but continues to treat patients at his
Pain & Fatigue Clinic in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada.

August 2008
Dr Hyams is suspended for 6 months!

Dr Hyams sends a message,

"The findings have come as a shock to me. My intentions for my patients have always been to offer them the best care, based on the medical knowledge that I have accumulated over the years. I do wish to thank my family, patients and colleagues for their support during this difficult time."

One of Dr Hyam's patients has sent an email to his secretary, Judy Hayman,
"I've been sitting here for 10 minutes trying to take it in and I have no idea what to say apart from I'm so deeply sorry for Dr H. He has done so much for me and I'm just so upset that someone has lost so much by helping me. I can't believe I'm sitting in the public library typing this in tears. Why do the good guys get attacked? This is not justice..."

Thyroid UK has been watching the events of Dr Hyam's Fitness to Practice quite closely, as we did with Dr Skinner's Fitness to Practice. We wanted to do anything we could to help and when I was asked by Dr Hyams' solicitors to travel up to Manchester to give mitigating evidence on behalf of Dr Hyams on Thursday 26th June 2008, I accepted, hoping that it would make a difference.

They asked me to get there for 9am so I travelled up the day before and stayed in a hotel so that I could get there on time. Other patients were giving evidence too and we all met up for dinner on the Wednesday night.

We were all there on time ready to discuss our evidence with the solicitors. Everyone was called one at a time and as the time went on, I wondered why I hadn't been called for my chat. Two other patients were not called either. Patients then started being called in to give their evidence and I still had not been in with the solicitor.

Just before lunch, the solicitor came out and called me in, only to tell me that they were not going to use me as a witness. He felt that my evidence (mainly thyroid based) wasn't going to be helpful as Dr Hyams had been proved on writing an inappropriate advert and using Live Blood Microscopy. His patients who were in the waiting room with me were shocked that I wasn't going to give evidence and made their views known to the solicitors, however, they still didn't want me to give evidence.

The solicitors told us that they could not understand why the GMC panel were so against the use of Live Blood Microscopy and that there had been a lot of evidence to show that it was used widely, both here and overseas. However, at the end of the day, it seems that Live Blood Microscopy is part of "alternative" medicine and should not be used for patients.

The GMC were also concerned that patients that went to see Dr Hyams were vulnerable and taken in by him. This is absolutely ridiculous and if I had been allowed to speak I would have told the panel that, in fact, it's the vulnerable patients who stay with their GP and are told their illness is all in their head. It's actually the strong patients who look elsewhere for a reason for their illness. None of the patients who spoke on his behalf showed any vulnerability and explained that Dr Hyams had, in fact, changed their lives. Obviously, the GMC Panel did not listen.

Dr Hyams now has to wait to see if the Medical Protection Society will pay for an appeal (the solicitors have said it is being discussed but we all know that discussing and doing are two different things, going by Dr Gordon Skinner's case).

I do believe that any doctors who use Live Blood Microscopy may be in big trouble now and that they should all get together and discuss what can be done about this. If they don't, we don't know who will be next, do we?

May 2008
GMC Attacking Another Good Doctor

We all know that there are certain endocrinologists out there who do not like the way some doctors are treating patients with thyroxine, even though it gets the patients better! First it was Dr Peatfield, then Dr Skinner, then Dr Myhill and now it is the turn of Dr Hyams to defend himself against the allegations of the GMC.

Dr Hyams helps many patients with ME and thyroid disease improve their health and I think it is a shocking waste of time and resources to try and prove ridiculous allegations against a doctor who only has the best interests of his patients at heart.

Dr Hyams had his first hearing in October 06. There were three weeks of legal wrangling over the use of patients' records without their permission, the fact that the Medical Act doesn't apply in Guernsey and trying to decide which Data Protection Laws were correct. What a waste of taxpayers money! The Hearing was then adjourned to an unknown date in the future. That date was 1st May 2008 and is being held in Manchester – a place some of us know so well!

I am pleased to say that Thyroid UK was instrumental in getting Dr Thierry Hertoghe to be the Expert Witness for Dr Hyams, as he was for Dr Skinner. One of the Expert Witness for the GMC is our old friend, Prof A Weetman.

One of Dr Hyams' Campaign Team has sent a message:
Could I ask you to spare a thought for Dr. Ian Hyams and his Legal Team when this Case opens on Thursday the 1st May and is due to run for a month.

I am speaking out now as a patient when I say how bitter we feel about this. What a waste of his talents, having to spend time fighting this case when he could be helping patients. That's quite apart from the ludicrous cost of all this. Are patients complaining? No, just doctors.

Isn't it time the medical profession listened to some of us patients who have been helped to get our lives back together again when we were relegated to the scrap heap by conventional medicine.

There are so few doctors out there who are prepared to try and help us who suffer from chronic health problems. Why should we be told that no one can help us when we know there are doctors out there who can, and do, help us lead a normal life again. Why are they being targeted in this fashion? So many of the Integrated Doctors in the UK are being targeted. I have said so many times - don't chastise them - clone them.

Dr Hyams has sent a message to all his patients:

Dear Patient

As you all know, the hearing commencement date is imminent, and I wanted to extend my gratitude to you all for your prayers and support. I feel very passionate indeed to defend these unfair allegations and to protect the rights of doctors such as myself to practice Integrative Medicine and also for patients to access Integrative Medicine if they so wish.
I have spent a lot of time with my lawyers preparing our case and I am so grateful to Judy for what she has done in helping with the campaign.

I assure you that I am thinking of you all during this time and I believe that God will give us the strength that we need to get through the next couple of weeks.

Bless you all
Ian Hyams MBChB, LMCC

I will keep you all informed of how the Hearing progresses.