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Inside this issue of Sessional GP… Medicolegal features
4 Ask the experts Dr Sarah Townley answers common medicolegal queries from sessional GPs
6 Perils of the twilight zone
Dr Rachel Birch and Dr Richard Stacey explore the risks of working in out-of-hours, drawing on real cases
9 Hot topic: Facebook faux pas and Twitter tourettes
Medicolegal adviser Dr Zaid Al-Najjar explores how translating your thoughts into cyberspeak can create trouble offline
10 How locum chambers reduce risk
Dr Richard Fieldhouse says that being linked to a locum chambers can reduce risk
6 Practical problems
12 Obstacles to openness Being open with patients when things go wrong is not as easy as you think, says Sarah Whitehouse
14 Using self-directed learning groups
Steve Crone, chief executive of the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund (RBF), says that self-directed learning groups can reduce isolation
Working life
16 Spotlight: New GPs Dr Saheli Chaudhury offers her top ten tips for newly-qualified GPs
18 Final thought: Eccentric locums
Dr Euan Lawson explores working on the fringes of GP society
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Dr Richard Stacey EDITOR Sara Williams CONTRIBUTORS Dr Euan Lawson, Dr Richard Fieldhouse, Dr Rachel Birch, Dr Sarah Townley, Sarah Whitehouse, Frances Warneford, Dr Saheli Chaudhury DESIGN Jayne Perfect PRODUCTION MANAGER Philip Walker MARKETING Kirsten Wilson, Jo Naylor GP REPS Kay Christey, Beverley Hampshaw, Sam Walpole, Georgina Palfrey, Michael McKenna, Kathy Douglas-Kellie, Claire Howarth, Susan Kelly EDITORIAL BOARD Dr Stephanie Bown, Gareth Gillespie, Dr Rachel Birch Sessional GP Medical Protection Society, Granary Wharf House, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS11 5PY Tel: 0113 241 0530 Fax: 0113 241 0500
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iStockphoto.com 14 4 Welcome
Dr Richard Stacey – Editor-in-chief MPS Medicolegal Adviser
Sessional GPs, particularly locum GPs, provide primary medical care for patients when their own GP is unavailable; much of this occurs out-of-hours (OOH). OOH is provided in a variety of settings, such as in emergency departments, primary care centres, walk-in centres and minor injuries units. A sessional GP’s responsibility working in OOH is to provide good and safe medical care on that day and provide any essential information for the subsequent handover, including any adequate safety netting.
During the last few years there has been a distinct rise in complaints and claims arising from consultations in the OOH setting. This is the result of a multitude of factors, eg, a consulting OOH GP will not have access to the patient’s complete records, and they will be dealing with patients who are unfamiliar with them. Providing care in the OOH setting carries both unique risks and vulnerabilities. Dr Rachel Birch and I have contributed an article, “Perils of the twilight zone”, highlighting the pitfalls of three typical OOH cases.
Learning from others’ experiences and mistakes is central to working as a GP. This issue features articles from Dr Richard Fieldhouse, founder of the NASGP, and Steve Crone, chief executive of the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund, who write about the importance of belonging to a group of fellow GPs, whether it be a chambers or a self-directed learning group.
I hope you enjoy this issue.
CONTENTS
SESSIONAL GP | VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 2 | 2011 | UNITED KINGDOM
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