Raj Persaud 1592154 225596197 2008-07-14T13:58:30Z 86.142.104.215 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 225305372 by [[Special:Contributions/Rafae11a|Rafae11a]] ([[User talk:Rafae11a|talk]]) until it is cited as fact with reputable sources, it is merely a claim {{Infobox_Celebrity | name = Rajendra Persaud | image = Raj Persaud at Humber Mouth 2007-06-30.jpg | imagesize = | caption = Raj Persaud at Humber Mouth, 30 June 2007. | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|5|13|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]], [[England]] | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = [[Psychiatrist]],<br>[[TV presenter|TV]] and [[radio presenter]] | salary = | networth = | website = http://www.rajpersaud.com }} '''Rajendra (Raj) Persaud''' (born [[13 May]], [[1963]] of Caribbean parents of Indian origin in [[Reading, Berkshire|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".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7452877.stm |title=Media doctor admits to plagiarism |publisher=BBC News |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-06-16}}</ref>. Professor Richard Bentall, told the GMC tribunal that he was "flabbergasted" at the blatancy of Persaud's deceit. Passages of Professor Bentall's work had been copied without quotation marks or other adequate reference on the corresponding pages of one of Persaud's popular books. Professor Bentall noted that Professor Persaud has asked him permission to quote his work, which he had given, and Bentall had been sent a copy of the book.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jun/18/mentalhealth.health |title=Persaud's blatant cribs were flabbergasting, professor tells tribunal |publisher=The Guardian (London) |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-06-18}}</ref>. On 19 June 2008 he was found guilty of dishonesty and bringing the profession into disrepute by the GMC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7464210.stm |title=Media doctor guilty of disrepute |publisher=BBC |accessdate=2008-06-19}}</ref>. It was announced on 20 June by the GMC that his fitness to practise was impaired, and he was suspended from practising for three months. <ref> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7465539.stm </ref><ref>BBC Radio 4 6pm news bulletin</ref>In summing up, the Chairman of the GMC Panel, Dr Anthony Morgan, explained that in deciding on the length of the suspension, the panel took into account that there had been no patient harm, that his plagiarism was not financially motivated, that it did not relate to research fraud and that it was unlikely to be repeated [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4179597.ece]. He pronounces his surname {{IPAEng|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gresham.ac.uk/text.asp?PageId=33 |title=Professor Raj Persaud: Visiting Gresham Professor of Psychiatry |publisher=Gresham College |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-06-18}}</ref> His mother is the novelist [[Lakshmi Persaud]]. ==Academic career== Persaud was educated at the [[Haberdashers' Aske's Boys School|Haberdashers' Aske's School]] (a private school in [[Elstree]], just north of London) and at [[University College London]] where he read for 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]]. {{Fact|date=June 2008}} In 2000 he was awarded with a UCL Fellowship, and in 2005 made Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He is currently suspended from his position as consultant psychiatrist at the [[South London and Maudsley NHS Trust]] and he holds a visiting professor role as [[Gresham College|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 (TV series)|This Morning]]''. In addition to writing regularly for ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' and ''[[The Independent]]'', Persaud also had columns in the ''[[Times Educational Supplement]]'', ''[[Cosmopolitan Magazine|Cosmopolitan]]'' and Canary Wharf CityLife magazine. He is a former presenter of the [[BBC Radio 4]] psychology and psychiatry programme ''[[All in the Mind (BBC radio)|All in the Mind]]''. He was a presenter for [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/05_may/19/ws_travels_mind.shtml ''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 (doctor)|Mark Porter]], he co-presented the live medical-talk and phone-in TV programme ''[[Doctor, Doctor (Five TV)|Doctor, Doctor]]'' on [[Five (channel)|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 ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' columnist claimed he is "paid a lot of money for stating the obvious". The comedian, [[GP]] and columnist Dr [[Phil Hammond (comedian)|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]]. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19970923/ai_n14130959 |title=A few deaths may be the price we'll have to pay for saving resources |publisher=The Independent (London) |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-06-18}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |url=http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/312/7040/1234 |title=King of the media shrink pack? |publisher=British Medical Journal |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-06-18}}</ref> 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 experiment|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. Professor Persaud had invited Blass to introduce Blass's work on Stanley Milgram to a wider audience through Radio 4's "All in the Mind" program which Persaud hosted and the interview was broadcast on November 30, 2004 [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/allinthemind_20041130.shtml]. 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 <ref>{{cite web |url=http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,1674338,00.html |title=TV psychiatrist's bosses investigate plagiarism claims | publisher=The Guardian |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-06-16}}</ref>. The paper blamed a "production error" and altered the article in its web archives to properly attribute Kent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article295712.ece |title=Raj Persaud: A dangerous war on psychiatry |publisher=The Independent |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-06-16}}</ref> In December 2005, it was announced that two of his articles would be retracted from the ''[[British Medical Journal]]'' and ''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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/news_details_2006.php?news_id=43 |title=Statement regarding Dr Raj Persaud |publisher=King's College London |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-06-18}}</ref> Later that month, Persaud resigned as presenter of the [[BBC Radio 4]] programme ''All In The Mind'' because of the ongoing controversy,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4872026.stm |publisher=BBC NEWS |title=Plagiarism row dogs radio doctor |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-06-16}}</ref> but returned temporarily in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/allinthemind.shtml |publisher=BBC Radio 4 |title=All in the Mind |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-06-16}}</ref> In December 2007, the same issues of alleged plagiarism were brought to the attention of the [[General Medical Council]] by a group affiliated to the Scientology movement (see below).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/dec/04/persaud |title=Psychiatrist to face plagiarism charges at GMC hearing | publisher=The Guardian |format= |work= |accessdate=}}</ref> In the hearing in June 2008, Persaud admitted to inadequately acknowledging four articles for his book ''From The Edge Of The Couch,'' but denied that his actions brought his profession into disrepute. The book attempts to popularise 100 famous cases in psychiatry. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7452877.stm |publisher=BBC NEWS | title=Media doctor admits to plagiarism |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-06-16 |date=2008-06-16}}</ref> Persaud appeared before the GMC from [[16 June]],<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jun/16/mentalhealth.health|title=Raj Persaud: TV psychiatrist admits plagiarism|author=Batty, David|publisher=The Guardian|date=2008-06-16|accessdate=2008-06-21}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jun/17/mentalhealth.health|title=Media psychiatrist fights for his job|author=Wainwright, Martin|date=2008-06-17|accessdate=2008-06-21}}</ref> where Dr Anthony Morgan, chair of the GMC Fitness to Practise panel told Persaud: <blockquote>"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."<ref name="BBCGuilt"/></blockquote> Found guilty of bringing the profession into disrepute on [[19 June]],<ref name="BBCGuilt">{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7464210.stm |title=Media doctor guilty of disrepute |publisher=BBC|date=2008-06-19|accessdate=2008-06-19}}</ref> on [[20 June]], the GMC came to the conclusion that Dr Persaud's "fitness to practise is impaired,"<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7465539.stm|title=Media doctor hit with suspension|date=2008-06-20|accessdate=2008-06-21}}</ref> and he was suspended from practising for three months. In deciding on the short suspension, the panel took into account that there had been no patient harm, that his plagiarism was not financially motivated, that it did not relate to research fraud and that it was unlikely to be repeated. It emerged in the judgement that the matter was brought to the attention of the GMC by the [[Citizens Commission on Human Rights]], an organisation founded by senior members of the Scientology movement.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article4179597.ece|title=TV psychiatrist Raj Persaud suspended for plagiarism|author=Jenkins, Russell|publisher=The Times|date=2008-06-21|accessdate=2008-06-21}}</ref> In a statement issued through the [[Medical Protection Society]][http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5j0AON_Lf__tTZ0E9Bn2qSnhteMlw], Dr Persaud said: "I am saddened by the findings and decision of the GMC, which relates to material published in 2004 and 2005. These matters have been under investigation since 2005. "As I said during the hearing, I accept that my use of the work of some authors lacked adequate acknowledgement. "I have apologised repeatedly for this during the hearing, and I apologise for this now. I am saddened that this occurred while I was seeking to promote the work of academics to the wider public. "I am grateful for the support of so many colleagues, patients and members of the public who have contacted the GMC and myself to offer their support to me at this difficult time. "Mental illness and psychological problems are much misunderstood, but extremely common predicaments which still require energetic efforts to de-stigmatise. I hope to be allowed to continue with this work in the future." ==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 Bible''. December 1AD (Persaud Press). ISBN 1572931639 (All Own work) * ''The Motivated Mind''. March 2005 (Bantam Press). ISBN 0553813455 * ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: Sixth Edition''. Aug 2007 (Oxford University Press). ISBN 9780199233243 * ''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== * list of [[Visiting Gresham Professor]]s ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.rajpersaud.com rajpersaud.com], Personal website * [http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk/catalog/author.htm?authorid=4027.html ''Transworld'' publishers' website] * [http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/publications/gaskellbooks/gaskell/9780593056356.aspx ''Royal College of Psychiatrists book website] * [http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,16518,1636100,00.html ''Guardian'' news story about plagiarism] * [http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,1680240,00.html Letter from a BMJ editor about plagiarism by Persaud] * [http://www.nursinginpractice.com/default.asp?page=article.author&author.id=203 Profile on NursinginPractice.com] *[http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pressparliament/podcasts.aspx Raj Persaud talks to ...], Podcasts *[http://www.actionaid.org.uk/index.asp?page_id=101157 ''Video of his recent visit to Bangladesh with Action Aid'']. *[http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/RMOI-7BU2G4?OpenDocument ''More on his recent visit to Bangladesh with Action Aid'']. * [http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/20/mentalhealth Guardian opinion piece on Persaud] {{DEFAULTSORT:Persaud, Raj}} [[Category:1963 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:British psychiatrists]] [[Category:Psychiatrists]] [[Category:People from Reading, Berkshire]]