Dr Gibson said that he still hoped that there would be a proper study of the influence of genetics as a cause. Scientists have long assumed that type 1 diabetes, a more serious form of the condition which often strikes children, has a genetic cause but still don't fully understand the relationship.
Dr Ketan Dhatariya, the consultant diabetologist at Mr Gibson's local hospital, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, told the Daily Telegraph today that his remarks were "disgraceful". There's no suggestion that this is the case. This article is more than 15 years old. If you look at the names in Norfolk, there's a lot that are the same. That might mean more of them have got the same gene which predisposes them to it.
Research has shown that some children in Norfolk suffer from type 1 diabetes - more than double the predicted cases for the county. Dr Gibson said that he still hoped that there would be a proper study of the influence of genetics as a cause. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. The truth, sometimes, is not as enduring as a caricature. Indeed, glance at an internet guide book for student doctors and you will find a tongue-in-cheek mention of two acronyms - FLK and NFN - which can be used on patients' medical notes.
The other irony of Dr Gibson's public apology yesterday, is that he had already been offered the chance by the EDP earlier in the week to retract his comments - a chance he passed up. If you look at the names in Norfolk, there's a lot that are the same. That might mean more of them have got the same gene which predisposes them to it.
There is a serious scientific and sociological debate to be had about links between the genetic make-up of communities and the prevalence of certain illnesses. He has been one of the Labour government's most persistent critics - on identity cards, foundation hospitals, private finance and, most conspicuously, as the leader of the backbench rebellion on university tuition fees.
Dr Gibson has also, in his time, set his sights beyond Downing Street and fired the odd volley at Highgrove. The MP has also never been shy of poking public figures in Norfolk with a rhetorical sharpened stick.
The private finance deal to build the new Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital been an abiding concern and in the late s Dr Gibson doggedly pursued the case of David Bennett, a black patient who died while being restrained by staff at the Norvic Clinic on the outskirts of Norwich.
Of course, in an age of spin doctors and sound-bites, MPs who speak their mind are a rare and valuable species indeed.
0コメント