“In our experience very few GMC cases make it beyond written correspondence”


will assist the expert when compiling their report. Any personal reflections from the doctor on the care provided can also be helpful, especially if it is a situation where this has been less than adequate in some way. Tis might also include any remediation, lessons learned and CPD that might help reassure the GMC that there are no ongoing concerns about fitness to practise. Te expert report will be provided to the member once available and, if appropriate, further comment can be made. Te documentation will then be passed to two case examiners,


Documentation should be sent as soon as possible so we can set


up a file and consider the substance of the complaint. We will also ask the member to provide a report on the events giving rise to the complaint, together with their proposed response, a brief summary of their career to date, and copies of the relevant medical records. We will use all this information as the basis for a response to the GMC. It will take time to draſt a response and may involve our legal team; hence the need for all relevant documentation to be sent as soon as possible. On receipt we will write back to the member with our standard


letter of agreement (LOA) for signature. An MDDUS case reference will be included on the letter and this should be quoted thereaſter when making contact or sending further documentation. We require the signed LOA as confirmation that the member wishes us to assist and that we can liaise with the GMC about the complaint on their behalf. Any draſt response to the GMC will be sent to the member for


careful review to ensure not only that you are happy with what has been written on your behalf but also that it is accurate and adequately reflects the sequence of events. Any contradictory details arising later in the case may reflect adversely. Tere is no compulsory timescale for responding at this initial stage but we usually try to do so within four weeks; hence the reason again for requesting that information is sent to us promptly.


Expert review In clinical complaints, the GMC will now invariably seek an expert view from a relevant specialist of the care provided to the patient who is the focus of the complaint. It can sometimes be helpful for the member to provide detailed comments in the response as this


AUTUMN 2015


one medical and one lay, who will review the case and decide whether any additional information is required or whether the investigation can be concluded. Te vast majority of complaints conclude at this first stage with no further action. Sometimes the doctor will be sent a “letter of advice” to reflect on particular sections of Good Medical Practice relevant to the complaint, but no further action is required and no detail of the complaint is recorded on the GMC website. Cases can also be concluded at this stage with a “warning”. Tis


is considered appropriate for less serious departures from Good Medical Practice and is not an action against registration. However, it will be published on the GMC website for five years and must be declared in any job application. Whilst it is possible to challenge the proposal to issue a warning, this requires attendance at an Investigation Committee hearing in Manchester. In complaints not concluded at this stage, there is another


written stage in which a letter detailing specific allegations (oſten based on the conclusions of the expert report) is sent to the doctor. A response must be sent to the GMC within four weeks and our legal department will at this stage be involved in reviewing the correspondence and considering the terms of any response. Normally we will meet with the member in person to consider all the issues in detail before submitting a response. GMC case examiners will again review the papers and may


decide to conclude the case with no further action or a letter of advice, or issue a warning. Tey may also decide at this stage to refer the member to a fitness to practise panel, or in certain types of case to offer undertakings to be agreed by the member. Unfortunately, the whole process can sometimes take many


months and we recognise that it is very stressful for the doctor involved. Te medical adviser (and solicitor) allocated to the file are there to offer support through all of the steps of an investigation, and to the (hopefully) successful conclusion.


 Dr Mary Peddie is a medical adviser at MDDUS 13


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