PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release: Tuesday, 19 December 2017
The General Medical Council (GMC) has today published The state of medical education and practice 2017, which identifies some of the challenges facing the medical profession.
Commenting on its release, MDDUS chief executive Chris Kenny said:
“We welcome this report and the steps the GMC has taken to improve efficiency and decision making in the fitness to practise process. We will continue to work with them to help ease the strain on doctors and make the complaints and regulatory processes less stressful for members and more transparent for patients.
MDDUS Joint head of medical division Dr Anthea Martin added:
“Complaints against doctors may have plateaued, but they are still 10% above the 2011 level.
“Better communication between GMC and employers has resulted in better understanding of issues and the introduction of provisional enquiries at the triage stage of fitness to practise has led to fewer full investigations. This can only be good news for doctors.
“Early local action is key to defuse complaints and we believe that local resolution should be speedy, fair and consistent. In our experience, patient complaints that are dealt with quickly and efficiently between the patient and the doctor are far more likely to be resolved.”
Ends
For further information contact Richard Hendry on 0333 0434444 or 07976 272266, or email rihendry@mddus.com.
Note to editors
MDDUS (The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland) is a medical and dental defence organisation providing access to professional indemnity and expert medico- and dento-legal advice for doctors, dentists and other healthcare professionals throughout the UK.
This page was correct at the time of publication. Any guidance is intended as general guidance for members only. If you are a member and need specific advice relating to your own circumstances, please contact one of our advisers.