BMJ 2014;349:g5298 doi: 10.1136/bmj.g5298 (Published 22 August 2014)
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NEWS Doctors who fail to raise concerns about colleagues could be struck off Abi Rimmer BMJ Careers
UK doctors who fail to raise concerns about colleagues or about patients’ care could be removed from the General Medical Council’s medical register, the regulator has said. The GMC has launched a public consultation on proposals to change its guidance on the sanctions that can be issued by fitness to practise panels of the Medical Practitioner Tribunal Service .1 The MPTS runs hearings concerning doctors whose fitness to practise is called into question by the GMC but is designed to be operationally independent from the regulator. The current guidance on sanctions says that “it may be appropriate to remove a doctor from the medical register when their behaviour is fundamentally incompatible with being a doctor.” The GMC has proposed to change the guidance so that MPTS panels can remove a doctor from the medical register in other situations. These situations include cases where a doctor has “failed to raise concerns where there is a reason to believe a colleague’s fitness to practice is impaired” and cases where a doctor has failed to raise concerns “where a patient is not receiving basic care to meet their needs.”
MPTS panels could also take more serious action in other situations, including cases where doctors have “used their professional position to pursue a sexual or improper emotional relationship with a patient or someone close to them” and where doctors have failed to work collaboratively, “including bullying, sexual harassment, or violence or risk to patient safety.” The consultation also asks for views on changes to MPTS panels’ power to issue warnings to doctors. Warnings are currently issued in cases where a doctor has made a significant departure from the principles set out in the GMC’s Good Medical Practice guidance2 but where the concerns are not so serious that their fitness to practise medicine in the future is impaired.
The GMC asks for views on the length of time over which warnings should be published and disclosed. Currently, warnings
For personal use only: See rights and reprints http://www.bmj.com/permissions
are published on the online medical register and disclosed to all inquirers for five years and to employers indefinitely. The consultation says that MPTS panels would like to be able to issue warnings in cases where a doctor’s misconduct has affected their fitness to practise but where more serious action would be disproportionate.
The GMC’s consultation also seeks views on imposing sanctions where doctors make serious clinical errors, even where they have successfully retrained and improved their practice, if they failed to heed concerns and take steps to protect patients sooner.
It proposes that panels should require doctors to apologise where they have previously failed to do so and that there should be improved public protection in cases where doctors have bullied colleagues and put patients at risk or discriminated against others in their professional or personal life. Commenting on the launch of the consultation, Niall Dickson, the GMC’s chief executive, said, “The guidance on which we are consulting is vital for case examiners and the independent panels who decide on the sanctions doctors should face, both to protect patients and uphold the reputation of the profession. We want patients, doctors, and other professionals to give us their views. This consultation is a chance to make sure the action we take is fair to doctors while never losing our focus on protecting the public.” The consultation closes on 14 November, and the GMC will publish the outcome in 2015. 1
2
General Medical Council. Reviewing how we deal with concerns about doctors: a public consultation on changes to our sanctions guidance and on the role of apologies and warnings. Aug 2014. www.gmc-uk.org/Reviewing_how_we_deal_with_concerns_about_ doctors_interactive_web_versio....pdf_57489422.pdf. General Medical Council. Good medical practice. 2013. www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/good_ medical_practice.asp.
Cite this as: BMJ 2014;349:g5298 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2014
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
Page 1 of 1
News
NEWS Doctors who fail to raise concerns about colleagues could be struck off Abi Rimmer BMJ Careers
UK doctors who fail to raise concerns about colleagues or about patients’ care could be removed from the General Medical Council’s medical register, the regulator has said. The GMC has launched a public consultation on proposals to change its guidance on the sanctions that can be issued by fitness to practise panels of the Medical Practitioner Tribunal Service .1 The MPTS runs hearings concerning doctors whose fitness to practise is called into question by the GMC but is designed to be operationally independent from the regulator. The current guidance on sanctions says that “it may be appropriate to remove a doctor from the medical register when their behaviour is fundamentally incompatible with being a doctor.” The GMC has proposed to change the guidance so that MPTS panels can remove a doctor from the medical register in other situations. These situations include cases where a doctor has “failed to raise concerns where there is a reason to believe a colleague’s fitness to practice is impaired” and cases where a doctor has failed to raise concerns “where a patient is not receiving basic care to meet their needs.”
MPTS panels could also take more serious action in other situations, including cases where doctors have “used their professional position to pursue a sexual or improper emotional relationship with a patient or someone close to them” and where doctors have failed to work collaboratively, “including bullying, sexual harassment, or violence or risk to patient safety.” The consultation also asks for views on changes to MPTS panels’ power to issue warnings to doctors. Warnings are currently issued in cases where a doctor has made a significant departure from the principles set out in the GMC’s Good Medical Practice guidance2 but where the concerns are not so serious that their fitness to practise medicine in the future is impaired.
The GMC asks for views on the length of time over which warnings should be published and disclosed. Currently, warnings
For personal use only: See rights and reprints http://www.bmj.com/permissions
are published on the online medical register and disclosed to all inquirers for five years and to employers indefinitely. The consultation says that MPTS panels would like to be able to issue warnings in cases where a doctor’s misconduct has affected their fitness to practise but where more serious action would be disproportionate.
The GMC’s consultation also seeks views on imposing sanctions where doctors make serious clinical errors, even where they have successfully retrained and improved their practice, if they failed to heed concerns and take steps to protect patients sooner.
It proposes that panels should require doctors to apologise where they have previously failed to do so and that there should be improved public protection in cases where doctors have bullied colleagues and put patients at risk or discriminated against others in their professional or personal life. Commenting on the launch of the consultation, Niall Dickson, the GMC’s chief executive, said, “The guidance on which we are consulting is vital for case examiners and the independent panels who decide on the sanctions doctors should face, both to protect patients and uphold the reputation of the profession. We want patients, doctors, and other professionals to give us their views. This consultation is a chance to make sure the action we take is fair to doctors while never losing our focus on protecting the public.” The consultation closes on 14 November, and the GMC will publish the outcome in 2015. 1
2
General Medical Council. Reviewing how we deal with concerns about doctors: a public consultation on changes to our sanctions guidance and on the role of apologies and warnings. Aug 2014. www.gmc-uk.org/Reviewing_how_we_deal_with_concerns_about_ doctors_interactive_web_versio....pdf_57489422.pdf. General Medical Council. Good medical practice. 2013. www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/good_ medical_practice.asp.
Cite this as: BMJ 2014;349:g5298 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2014
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
