An Explanation

[Guest guest]

Dear Thalia

In response to your message to our very new member Sam, I have opened a new thread here.

As I have personally been warned this forum is being monitored, possibly to root out further doctors who are diagnosing and treating their patients outside the NHS mainstream protocol, I decided that in the interest of them all, and in the interest of our members, to mention our doctors only by their initial. Unfortunately, such individuals will be monitoring all the UK thyroid websites and forums for content, so even though you ask people to post on the About.com forum, you are also putting these same doctors livelihood at possible risk there should you continue to mention doctors by name.

This forum has helped a huge number of members, as they will no doubt tell you, but as you have only recently become a member, you may not be aware of this. Our forum, first and foremost, is to campaign to try to change the mainstream NHS protocol in reaching a diagnosis, and for a choice of treatment to be given to sufferers. Secondly, to try to help and support sufferers who have been so badly treated. We have no other agenda. We are aware that there are others who have their own agenda in trying to discredit the work of TPA-UK.

We mention in the welcome letter that is sent to all new members that this forum is, and will remain monitored. Anybody not happy with this has the choice to not register for membership or to unsubscribe. Shomon's forum is also monitored. We both realise how important it is to keep our forum trouble free, and we both do whatever we feel is necessary to keep our forums that way.

I explained last week the reason for asking members to refrain for mentioning doctors (good or bad) name, and will accept that you probably missed the post giving that explanation. This forum has an enormous amount of traffic as you will appreciate, so it is very easy to miss a message.

We never deny anybody the right to post, but, in the interest of keeping our forum trouble free, if there is content in a post that we feel could cause upset to our members, doctors or moderators, we will return the message to the poster giving them the opportunity to change the 'offending' part. In your post, although I didn't see it, I understand you wrote a doctors name out in full. One of my moderators asked if you would please repost your message but just use the doctors initials.

I hope that now you have received an explanation, you will repost your previous message as we all need any help and support we can possibly get. We do what we can to make sure that neither doctors or our members be subject to litigation.

Sam is a brand new member, who only joined us yesterday, she needs help and support and we will give it to her as best we can. We wish for her to understand that this forum is friendly and very positive and that she, like all new members will feel comfortable here with us.

I understood from 's forum that you are an extremely keen campaigner for patients rights and I was delighted you had joined us and sincerely hoped you would be able to work towards the same goal here. I hope we can make a fresh start, this time, putting the right shoes on the right foot, as we need all the fighters we can get to change the mainstream NHS diagnosing and treatment protocol.

Kind regards

Sheila