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Welcome News


TRAINEES SHUN GP PARTNERSHIPS


Welcome to your


THE number of ways in which patients can contact us seems to have increased considerably in recent years, thanks in no small part to the rise of social media. But it is vital to maintain professional boundaries and to keep our work and personal lives separate wherever possible. In my article on page 4, I look at the challenges of handling Facebook friend requests from patients and offer advice on how to avoid falling foul of the GMC. Communicating in a way


patients can understand is crucial to the process of informed consent. Our article on page 7 offers tips on making yourself understood. All doctors who handle patient information must comply with the Data Protection Act, but knowing what to do with personal details can be tricky. MDDUS adviser Dr Barry Parker gives an overview of this important legislation on page 6. Reporting a colleague that you think poses a threat to


patient safety is difficult for any doctor, but can be especially challenging for trainees. On page 12, MDDUS adviser Dr Susan Gibson-Smith offers advice using a scenario involving alcohol addiction in a senior GP partner. Meanwhile, our case study on page 14 looks at a failure to diagnose appendicitis. Comic books are an unusual


sideline for your average GP, but on page 10 Dr Ian Williams talks about how he is using his passion for creating graphic novels to bring to life some of the challenges of practising medicine. On page 5 we discuss Lord


Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill which has sparked fierce debate in the profession. And in our career article on page 8, dignity and compassion are high on the agenda for GPs looking to develop a special interest in palliative care.


• Dr Peter Livingstone Editor


THE vast majority of new GPs plan to avoid partnership roles in favour of locum or salaried work, a new survey shows. Only 15 per cent said they


planned to look for a partnership “in the current climate”. Seventy- seven per cent said they would rather take up locum or salaried work, citing a desire for flexibility and a dislike of commitment. More than 2,000 GP trainees


across the UK responded to a survey by Wessex LMCs, including 700 who are due to qualify this summer.


Just under half (47 per cent)


said they would consider a partnership in five years’ time, blaming factors such as political uncertainty and long working hours. Concerns were also raised about the future provision of out-of-hours care. Responses also highlighted a


level of disillusionment amongst trainees, with a quarter saying they planned to take a break of more than two years out of general practice at some point in their career. A further 12 per cent plan to leave the country within the next 12 months and five per cent were already mentioning burnout or exhaustion. Most comments (83 per cent)


about trainees’ impression of general practice were negative, the survey found. Wessex LMCs CEO Dr Nigel


Watson said: “It is sad to see younger doctors becoming disillusioned before they have really commenced on their career - disillusioned doctors leaving general practice means ultimately less appointments for patients and increasingly overstretched services. “General practice is a fantastic


career – we need to work hard to re-establish general practice as an appealing and positive career choice.”


The survey highlighted a trend


for GPs to pursue a “portfolio career”, with 40 per cent saying they would look to develop a special interest in education or in a hospital specialty. More than 1,400 suggestions


were made on how to reverse the downward trend in recruitment. Common themes included ending the constant negative media and government attention, greater respect from hospital doctors, more GP funding and more GP foundation placements. There were also calls for


trainee surgeons and other doctors to spend time in general practice to increase their understanding of the challenges GPs face.


SUSPENSION SHOULD NOT MEAN LIST REMOVAL


EDITOR: Dr Peter Livingstone


CONTENT EDITOR: Dr Susan Gibson-Smith


ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Joanne Curran


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CMYK Design www.cmyk-design.co.uk


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CORRESPONDENCE: GPst Editor MDDUS Mackintosh House 120 Blythswood Street Glasgow G2 4EA


t: e: 0845 270 2034 jcurran@mddus.com w: www.mddus.com


GPst is published by The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, Registered in Scotland No 5093 at Mackintosh House, 120 Blythswood Street, Glasgow G2 4EA. The MDDUS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MDDUS are discretionary as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.


SUSPENDED doctors should only be removed from the performers list after a full investigation by their regulatory body, according to proposals from the Department of Health in England. A consultation is underway into plans to relax regulations that came


into force last April requiring NHS England to remove healthcare practitioners who had been suspended by the General Medical Council. The list removal was carried out even in cases of interim suspensions which regulators say are not intended to punish clinicians. The DoH has described the 2013 rules as “disproportionate” and is


looking to revert back to NHS regulations from 2004. This means NHS England would only be obliged to remove a practitioner who was suspended following a full investigation by their regulatory body. Interim suspension orders are designed to act as a short-term measure


to protect the public where a concern has been raised about a clinician’s fitness to practise. They allow time for the facts of a case to be investigated. Two options are under consideration and both would mean the doctor


would continue to be paid while suspended. The consultation ends on September 25.


PHOTO: PAUL GRAHAM


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