- Willem van IJperen
-
Willem Johannes van IJperen (born 11 June 1950 in Vlaardingen) is a Dutch-born Scottish pediatrician working in Grampian, Scotland. He is also a medical ethicist.
Contents
Education
Van IJperen studied psychology at Leiden University, medicine and law at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, medical ethics at Keele University in England, and political philosophy at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He holds university degrees in medicine, ethics and law and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Career
Van IJperen went to medical school to become a psychiatrist, but changed his focus to paediatrics. All of his appointments have been in this speciality. He was trained in St. Stephen’s Hospital (London), Westminster Children’s Hospital (London), Zuiderziekenhuis (Rotterdam), and Sophia Kinderziekenhuis (Rotterdam). Van IJperen was involved in Child Protection as confidential doctor (Rotterdam), and edited and contributed chapters to a book about the early stages of investigation when sexual abuse is suspected. As a general paediatrician his special interest is diabetes; in his area there are around 275 young persons with diabetes mellitus. He has worked since May 2001 in Grampian (Scotland), where he has clinics in Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital, Seafield Hospital (Buckie), and Dr Gray's Hospital (Elgin).
Interests and Profession
As a professional, Van IJperen has an interest in the remote and rural aspects of health care. He expressed his views during a recent (2010) service redesign discussion in NHS Scotland Grampian about health care provision; outside the academic centre, he defended comprehensive acute health care in remote and rural areas. His ideas are summarized as ‘Recipient Oriented Health Care.’
Van IJperen et al. published a review about the safety and efficacy of diabetic ketoacidosis management in a remote and rural hospital. (Pediatric Diabetes (2010) 11 (Supp14): 39).
Van IJperen runs the website www.drwillem.com, providing information about child health and ethics. Each year, the website organizes the Diabetes Essay and Poem Competition for young persons with diabetes.
Personal
Dr Van IJperen has an interest in philosophy, particularly ethics. He wrote a dissertation about the Principle of Reciprocity. He also has a longstanding love for music and plays the classical guitar. He is the father of three, with two daughters who are nurses, and a son who is a surgeon. He also has three granddaughters.
Controversy
In April 2009, Dr Van IJperen was suspended by his employer (NHS Grampian) for alleged non-compliance with child protection procedures. The situation concerned one of his patients who contracted a vaginal infection. In his assessment Dr Van IJperen concluded that his patient was not at risk of an abusive situation. He judged the 14-year-old patient to be Fraser competent, and decided that her confidentiality was to be respected. His employer did not agree and the case was reported to Social Work and Police; however, the case was later dropped. Several regional and national newspapers reported on the controversy in favour of Van IJperen’s point of view. A subsequent investigation by NHS Grampian supported Dr Van IJperen’s argument, and he was reinstated unconditionally.
References
External links
Categories:- 1950 births
- Living people
- People from Vlaardingen
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
