David Hall

Sir David Michael Baldock Hall (born 4 August 1945) is a British paediatrician. Hall is most notable for publishing a paper with Gillian Baird, on the role of primary care in identifying developmental problems in children that later resulted in the series of books being published called Health for all children that led in turn to one of the first attempts to apply an objective evidence based approach to medical practice for children. Hall is emeritus professor of community paediatrics at the Institute of General Practice and Primary Care, University of Sheffield. They have two daughters and two granddaughters. as well as consult on Scoliosis and adolescence for the Department of Health and Social Care. Hall stated that:

"The time has come to draw a line under the question of any association between the MMR vaccine and autism. The UK's children are in danger of serious illness or death if they are left unimmunised."

In 1986, Hall was contacted by the British Paediatric Association and invited to act on the findings of the report. This led to the Hall chairing the Joint Working Party on Child Health Surveillance at the BPA. The group included a number of individuals from different areas of the paediatrics profession. The group reviewed working practices of the paediatrics professions, in all areas of the NHS. The results of the first working party in 1989, was a report, in which the group found there was a complete lack of evidence on the history of development problems in children, and the current reliability of screening tests. A set of activities was proposed to advance the profession. The second edition was widely published.

Health for all children was one of the first attempts to use an evidence-based approach in the formulation of health care for children, and it led to vigorous debate in the paediatrics community both in the UK as well as the United States, Scandinavia, Hong Kong and Australia. )