Sir, - In a year of scandals in high places, including in the medical profession, the lowlight of 1996 had to be the censure of Professor Ivor Browne by the Fitness to Practice Committee of the Irish Medical Council. Professor Browne was rebuked for disclosing details of a relationship between his patient and a person who had died earlier, in order to protect the interests of his patient.
So far as I can see, this involved no breach of ethics, nor any discredit. The only disgrace is the attempt to dishonour publicly the reputation of a man who is internationally renowned for his pioneering and philanthropic work in the field of psychiatric medicine and who has performed many private acts of kindness for people in distress, including my own family. - Yours, etc.,
Kilbride,
Bray, Co Wicklow.