NEWS DIGEST
New guidance on duty of candour
THE General Medical Council has issued new guidance on the professional duty of candour. Doctors are obliged to admit mistakes and apologise to patients when things go wrong and provide an explanation. But the regulator made it clear that clinicians must have the support of an “open and honest working environment where they are able to learn from mistakes and feel comfortable reporting incidents that have led to harm”. Rules have already come into force in England placing a legal duty on hospital, community and mental health trusts, as well as other healthcare bodies such as general practices, to inform and apologise to patients where mistakes have led to significant harm. These new guidelines from the GMC now place a professional obligation on individual doctors. The guidance was jointly produced by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Under the guidance, doctors, nurses and
midwives should: • Speak to a patient or those close to them as soon as possible after they realise something has gone wrong with their care. • Apologise to the patient – explain what happened, what can be done if they have suffered harm and what will be done to prevent similar harm in future. • Use professional judgement about whether to inform patients about near misses – incidents which have the potential to result in harm but do not. • Report errors at an early stage so that lessons can be learned quickly and patients are protected from harm in the future. • Not try to prevent colleagues or former colleagues from raising concerns. Managers must make sure that those raising concerns are protected from unfair criticism, detriment or dismissal. GMC Chief Executive Niall Dickson said:
“We recognise that things can and do go wrong sometimes. It is what doctors, nurses and midwives do afterwards that matters. If they act in good faith, are open about what has happened and offer an apology this can make a huge difference to the patient and those close to them.”
● NEW APP TO REPORT SAFETY ISSUES Drug side- effects and medical device problems can now be reported electronically to the MHRA using a new Yellow Card app. Free for smartphones and other mobile
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devices, the app also allows users to keep up-to-date with the latest drug safety news. It can be downloaded from the iTunes app store and Google Play for iOS and Android devices. ● NON-COSMETIC TREATMENT
REGULATION IN SCOTLAND Private clinics in Scotland carrying out dental and other healthcare services, including non-surgical cosmetic interventions, are to be regulated by Healthcare Improvement Scotland from April
2016. Private hospitals offering cosmetic procedures requiring surgery have been regulated since 2011 but this new legislation now extends to non-surgical treatments such as Botox, teeth whitening, laser eye surgery and dermal fillers.
SUMMONS
Parental disregard of oral health in children
PARENTAL disregard for basic principles of oral health in children is leading to unnecessary hospital admissions and costing the NHS £22 million a year. A new survey published by dental
group My Dentist has revealed how dental disengagement has left over one million children aged eight and under still waiting for their first trip to the dentist. Additionally, over 700,000 children who have been to the dentist have had at least one filling, each at a cost of £31. The survey of over 2,000 UK-based
parents showed that many failed to take their children to the dentist early enough, with 57 per cent of respondents not going until after their first birthday. Only a quarter (26 per cent) of children brush their teeth for the recommended two minutes per session. The survey also revealed significant
parental ignorance of basic oral health messages, with 20 per cent incorrectly believing that fruit smoothies are good for their child’s teeth and 13 per cent saying that fluoride is bad. Nearly a third (31 per cent) were unaware of free NHS treatments available to kids, such as fluoride varnishing. The British Dental Association is calling for “real partnership and commitment
to solve the burgeoning crisis,” having pointed out that tooth decay is currently the leading cause of hospital admissions among children, with the 46,500 children admitted annually to have teeth removed under general anaesthetic. BDA Chair Mick Armstrong said: “Tooth
decay is the leading cause of hospital admissions among our nation’s children, and parents, teachers and policymakers need to take their share of responsibility. “We have to get children into the habit
of good oral health, and that will require partnership and commitment on all sides. It requires an end to mixed messages. We have to be clear that sugar hurts mouths as well as waistlines.”
Half of EU doctors refused UK licence
NEARLY half of European doctors who applied to the GMC for a licence to practise in the UK over the previous year were refused for not providing evidence of adequate language skills. In June of 2014 the GMC was given
new powers to ensure the English language skills of all licensed doctors in the UK, including those from the European Union. In the interim period since the new powers were introduced the GMC has prevented 779 European doctors (45 per cent of those applying) from practising in
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