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Showing posts with label prostate cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prostate cancer. Show all posts
Saturday, March 08, 2014
Thursday, August 27, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: The furore over the release of the Lockerbie bomber intensified today over the medical advice given to the Scottish government on how long he has to live.
It emerged that the prognosis that Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi had a life expectancy of only three months or less was supported by an unnamed doctor who had no expertise in terminal prostate cancer.
The final report on al-Megrahi’s condition which went to Kenny MacAskill was drawn up by Dr Andrew Fraser, director of health and care with the Scottish Prison Service.
The three-month time limit is important because Scottish Prison Service guidance says that compassionate release from prison “may be considered where a prisoner is suffering from a terminal illness and death is likely to occur soon. There are no fixed time limits but life expectancy of less than three months may be considered an appropriate period.”
Dr Fraser’s report says: “Whether or not prognosis is more or less than three months, no specialist ‘would be willing to say’.”
Dr Fraser’s report, however, also contains a reference to the “opinion” of an unnamed doctor - thought to be a GP - who, says the report, “dealt with him (al-Megrahi) prior to, during and following the diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer”.
It adds: “Having seen him during each of these stages, his clinical condition has declined significantly over the last week (July 26-August 3).
“The clinical assessment, therefore,is that a three month prognosis is now a reasonable estimate for this patient.”
Political opponents at Holyrood were today claiming that the conclusion reached by Dr Fraser was based on what the unnamed GP had said and had not taken into sufficient account the more guarded views of the prostate cancer specialists.
Dr Richard Simpson, a Labour MSP and a former associate member of the British Association of Urological Surgeons and member of its prostate cancer working group, has raised doubts about the three-month prognosis.
He said: "The Scottish government has misrepresented the medical evidence. The Justice Secretary chose to disregard the advice of specialists and release al-Megrahi on the opinion of one doctor, who we now know was not a specialist.
"At the very least, Kenny MacAskill should have sought a second opinion confirming the patient's prognosis from a specialist in palliative care. That he did not do so showed a disregard for due process and the significance of the decision." >>> Angus Macleod, Scottish Political Editor | Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: The Lockerbie bomber could live far longer than predicted by Scottish ministers when they decided to release him, a cancer expert has warned.
Dr Richard Simpson said that medical reports show there is “significant doubt” that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi will die within the next three months.
The Labour MSP accused Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice minister, of failing to conduct sufficient checks before deciding to release the terminally-ill bomber last week.
This attack was echoed by the Tories, who said that the most recent medical consensus was Megrahi would live eight months, too long to be eligible for compassionate release.
The row broke out as Gordon Brown finally ended his silence on the controversy, but refused to say whether he agreed with Mr MacAskill's decision.
The Prime Minister stressed he had “no role” in the release and he was “angry and repulsed” at the hero's welcome that greeted Megrahi on his return to Libya.
A storm of international condemnation has met Mr MacAskill's ruling last week to release Megrahi, who is suffering from prostate cancer, on compassionate grounds.
Scottish Prison Service (SPS) guidelines suggest that inmates are only freed if they have less than three months to live.
However, Dr Simpson, who specialised in prostate disease research, said: “It is clear to me from the medical reports and the opinion of the specialists that Megrahi could live for many more months. >>> Simon Johnson and Andrew Porter | Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
BBC: The Scottish justice secretary will be forced to defend his decision to release the Lockerbie bomber, as the Scottish Parliament is recalled later.
Opposition parties will demand to know how Kenny MacAskill aims to repair the damage they claimed had been done to Scotland's global reputation.
He has been under huge pressure, after granting early release to terminally-ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.
Mr MacAskill will make a statement to parliament and be questioned by MSPs.
The parliament will reconvene at 1430 BST on Monday.
Megrahi was freed after receiving a life sentence imposed in 2001 for his conviction for the UK's worst terrorist atrocity, which claimed 270 lives in 1988.
International standing
The 57-year-old, who has prostate cancer, returned home to Libya on Thursday to jubilant scenes which included people waving Scottish flags.
Scottish ministers said their decision to release Megrahi on compassionate grounds - which has been strongly criticised by the US government - followed due process and was the right one.
As the Scottish Parliament was preparing to cut short its summer break to discuss the issue, Scotland's opposition politicians urged Mr MacAskill to set out how he intends to improve Scotland's international standing in the wake of the criticism. Lockerbie Minister Facing Critics >>> | Sunday, August 23, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi will send his private jet to collect the Lockerbie bomber and take him home to Libya if, as expected, he is released from jail today on compassionate grounds.
Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary, said that he would announce at 1pm his decision on whether Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi should be freed, but he gave no indication last night as to what that decision would be.
A luxury aircraft was scheduled to collect the bomber at Glasgow airport yesterday for his triumphant return to Tripoli, but the flight was cancelled at lunchtime because Mr MacAskill’s advisers were still locked in talks after intense diplomatic pressure from America to keep al-Megrahi in jail.
The prisoner, who is terminally ill with prostate cancer, called his wife, Aisha, from Greenock prison, saying that he was still uncertain about his fate. “He didn’t know when he will be released,” the mother of five told The Times. “He is happy [about the news] but he is very ill and waiting to find out what will happen to him.”
His mother said that he had called her and said that he hoped to be with her by Ramadan. Hajja Fatma, 95, told the Tripoli Post that she didn’t dare to close her front door: “I am expecting him to enter at any moment.” >>> David Brown, Charlene Sweeney and Richard Kerbaj | Thursday, August 20, 2009
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