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SOCIAL MEDIA ENCOURAGING INCREASE IN COMPLAINTS While attitudes towards the medical profession are “positive


SOCIAL media and negative press coverage of the medical profession are helping to fuel a surge in complaints against doctors, new research shows. Complaints to the GMC by the general public about doctors’ fi tness to


practise almost doubled from 3,615 in 2007 to 6,154 in 2012. This prompted the regulator to commission a research team from Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry to investigate the trend. However, the GMC made it clear there is no evidence to suggest the rise is due to falling standards. Researchers said increasing complaints were a result of “broad


cultural changes in society, including changing expectations, nostalgia for a ‘golden age’ of healthcare, and a desire to raise grievances altruistically”. A culture has developed in which people are now more likely to raise


grievances, the researchers noted, with complaints networks and social media making it easier to complain. People are more likely to discuss their experiences using forums such as Twitter and Facebook, where information could be easily accessed and exchanged. Clinical care remains the largest cause of complaints, but there has


been a large increase in concerns about doctor-patient communication. Analysis showed a large number of complaints made to the GMC were dropped because they were beyond the regulator’s remit, suggesting there may be problems with the wider complaint handling system and culture.


TOUGHER SANCTIONS PLAN FOR DOCTORS


DOCTORS who harm patients could face sanctions even if they have improved their practice under new proposals from the General Medical Council. They would also be made to


apologise to patients if they have previously failed to do so and refusing to say sorry could lead to a tougher sanction. The proposals are part of a


major consultation by the regulator looking at how serious complaints should be dealt with. Under the plans, doctors could


face restrictions on their practice, suspension or even be erased from the register if it is shown that they knew, or should have known, they were causing harm to patients in serious cases. This could happen even if they have subsequently improved their practice.The GMC is seeking views


from the profession and the public on a number of measures. This includes taking a tougher


stance in cases where doctors fail to raise concerns about a colleague’s fi tness to practise or take prompt action where a patient’s basic care needs are not being met. The proposals also target


doctors who bully colleagues and put patients at risk or those who discriminate against others in their professional or personal life. GMC Chief Executive Niall Dickson said that while the “vast majority” of cases involve “one-off clinical errors” that are not pursued by the regulator, doctors must be held to account in the most serious cases. The consultation runs until


November 14 and the fi ndings will be published next year.


GP practices in England providing poor care will be given a deadline to make improvements, or face closure if they fail. A new “special measures” regime is being introduced from


October by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The move will coincide with the start of a new ratings system under which practices will be classed as outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate. The CQC said it will work closely with NHS England to pilot the scheme, which will operate “in close consultation” with other professional bodies including the General Medical Council and the Royal College of GPs. Under the new regime, practices found to be inadequate will


have six months to improve. Those who fail to do so will be put into special measures and given a further six months to meet the required standards. At the end of this process, those who still fall short will have their CQC registration cancelled and their contract with NHS England terminated. For practices that are believed to be putting patients at risk, the


CQC will have the power to put them straight into special measures. The scheme is similar to one the CQC already operates in NHS hospital trusts and there are plans to extend it next year to the adult social care sector. Professor Steve Field, the CQC’s chief inspector of GPs, said: “Most GP practices provide good care. But we can’t allow those that provide poor care to continue to let their patients have an inadequate service.” The scheme was given a cautious welcome by RCGP chair Dr


Maureen Baker who agreed that poor care “must be addressed” but said struggling practices must be supported.


FAILING GP PRACTICES TOLD TO IMPROVE OR BE SHUT DOWN


overall”, negative press coverage is blamed for “chipping away” at their reputation, resulting in an increased number of people making so-called “me too” complaints to the GMC. The report also noted that patients now have greater ownership


of their health, are better informed, are developing higher expectations and are treating doctors with less deference than in the past.


CLOSED


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