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Andrew Burd (Prof Rtd)

Andrew Burd (Prof Rtd)

Andrew Burd (Prof Rtd)

Retired Professor of Plastic Surgery; Freelance Medico/Legal Consultant

Co-Editor - The PMFA Journal

Andrew Burd is a British trained Plastic Surgeon, a Harvard trained Scientist, a School of Life trained Educator and a Pragmatic Ethicist. He was the Professor of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Centenary Professor of Regenerative Medicine and Translational Science at the School of Tropical Medicine in Kolkata, India. He is currently completing his PhD looking at the potential for Big Data to influence Health Policy. He is the founding and current Editor of The PMFA Journal. He is a staunch patient advocate with uncompromising views on patient safety.

Latest Contributions

Letter from Hong Kong (2 July 2020)

There is an expression about “living through history”. I am not quite sure what it means but I have the inclination that it conveys a sense of being there, of being alive, when the world changes. Dramatically, irrevocably. We have a before, and we have an after, and we are now in the period of transition.

Letter from Hong Kong (17 August 2020)

So much can change in just a few weeks. In Hong Kong after three weeks with no new cases we started to see a third wave in mid-July. More and more cases with no obvious source.

Letter from Hong Kong (1 October 2020)

Today is National Day in Hong Kong. A celebration of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on 1 October 1949.

Letter from Hong Kong (3 November 2020)

It is seven months since I wrote the first ‘Letter from Hong Kong’. The message then was simple: “Fear is okay, panic is not and wear masks”. It is one month since I wrote the last letter and that message? “Life goes on and will go on no matter what.”

Letter from Hong Kong (17 December 2020)

This will be the last ‘Letter from Hong Kong’. I began back in April with a simple message, wear masks.

Gross Negligence Manslaughter in Healthcare: The medico-legal dilemma (part 1)

On the 8 December 2020, Justice Judianna Barnes sentenced Dr Mak Wan-ling to three and a half years in prison. The charge for which she was found guilty was gross negligence manslaughter (GNM). She had injected a contaminated blood sample into a patient and the patient had died. The conviction was fundamentally flawed.

Gross Negligence Manslaughter in Healthcare: The medico-legal dilemma (part 2)

In Volume 1, Issue 1 of this journal I wrote an article entitled: ‘From PIP to DC-CIK to the Sorcerer’s Apprentice: a medico-political minefield’. Little did I know or anticipate what a mess this was going to become: a medico-legal mess with ignorant lawyers and arrogant doctors demonstrating how stupidity and rapacious hypocrisy can twist and distort reality for the purposes of extracting a bizarre social revenge with little sense of justice.

Gross Negligence Manslaughter in Healthcare: The medico-legal dilemma (part 3)

14 June 2021 is the day in the Chinese calendar to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. These local holidays are a reminder of the deep cultural heritage enjoyed by the Chinese people.

Gross Negligence Manslaughter in Healthcare: The medico-legal dilemma (part 4)

I want to return to the case of Dr Mak, who was, from the available evidence, caught up in a miscarriage of justice that arose because of a lack of effective interprofessional communication in the legal process.

Gross Negligence Manslaughter in Healthcare: The medico-legal dilemma (part 5) - Who is the Judge?

I wonder what Vanessa is thinking right now. If she can even think. A torrent of images, regrets, what ifs. The onslaught must be so great, no wonder the normal response is for the mind and the body to shut down? Depression.

Gross Negligence Manslaughter in Healthcare: The medico-legal dilemma (part 6) - Cosmetic surgery in Hong Kong

There is no formally recognised specialty of Cosmetic Surgery (and / or Medicine) in Hong Kong. Unsurprisingly, there are no formal training programs in cosmetic surgery or aesthetic medicine.

Gross Negligence Manslaughter in Healthcare: The medico-legal dilemma (part 7) – South Korea

South Korea is a truly amazing country and has, over the last thirty years, transformed into one of the most dynamic and innovative economies in the world.
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