http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7322/1148
BMJ 2001;323:1148 ( 17 November )
News roundup
Doctors to get new warning system on complaints
Zosia Kmietowicz London
The General Medical Council is introducing a new warning system to
discipline doctors whose behaviour falls short of what is deemed "good
medical practice" but is not severe enough to warrant a hearing before the
Professionals Complaints Committee.
The new level of complaint is designed to quieten critics of the GMC who
have accused the council of dealing with only very serious offences by doctors,
while allowing more minor misdemeanours to go unchecked—leaving complainants
dissatisfied and angry. The warning will appear on doctors’ records for life,
and may be made available to the public, the GMC said last week.
"The difficulty we have had in the past is because we have always dealt
with issues that affect registration, and we have spent too long looking at the
issues then deciding that it is not serious enough to affect
registration," explained Finlay Scott, the council’s chief executive.
"The new mechanism [warning] recognises that the issue is serious enough.
It will affect the doctor and bring a more satisfactory result."
Once a warning has been issued, doctors can choose to accept it or reject it
and have their case proceed to the Professionals Complaints Committee. To make
the process as open and visible as possible the complainant will receive the
same information about the action as the doctor in question, said Isabel
Nisbet, director of fitness to practise at the GMC. But the council is still
undecided about what information to disclose to other patients of the doctor
and to the general public, and these details will be debated in the next few
months.
Ms Nisbet described the warning system, which will deal primarily with
issues of misconduct—such as rudeness or very poor communication—rather than with clinical performance, as
"bringing clarity into what was a mixed picture before." The new
measure would also free up some hearing time, which would help the council to
deal with serious charges more swiftly, she added.
Jackie Glatter, a spokesperson for the Consumer’s Association, welcomed the
GMC’s commitment to disciplining doctors sooner. "It is in the spirit of
post-Bristol and post-Kennedy and we welcome anything that looks at local
regulation of doctors because it will be good for patients," she said.
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GMC out of control
Gareth Lloyd, Retired
bmj.com, 17 Nov 2001 [Response]
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