President of British Pain Society is forced from office after refusing to denounce NICE guidance on low back pain

The president of the British Pain Society was forced to resign on 21 July after a campaign from members who were unhappy with guidelines on the management of low back pain from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which he helped develop.

In a letter to the BMJ this week Michael Rawlins, chairman of NICE, and Peter Littlejohns, the institute’s clinical and public health director, called the move to oust Paul Watson as “shameful” and “professional victimisation of the worst kind” (BMJ 2009:339:b3028, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3028).

Professor Watson, who has been president of the society since April, said he was “very disappointed” about what had …