PHOTO: PAUL GRAHAM


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Welcome News


CALLS FOR “PREDATORY”


DOCTORS TO BE STRUCK OFF DOCTORS who abuse their professional position by preying on patients should be struck off, a GMC consultation has heard. More serious action should be


Welcome to your


AS doctors, the way we behave both professionally and personally can have a major impact on our careers. Whether we like it or not, we are never really off duty – something we must remember whether we’re enjoying a night out or posting comments on social media. MDDUS medical adviser Dr Susan Gibson-Smith offers guidance on page 12.


Dealing with a patient


complaint is a daunting prospect for trainees who are often less familiar than senior colleagues with how the process works. MDDUS medical and risk adviser Dr Gail Gilmartin provides practical advice on page 7. Hospital test results are easier to access than ever before, meaning doctors can more quickly advise and reassure patients – but only if they are competent to interpret the findings. MDDUS senior risk


adviser Liz Price highlights this issue on page 5. It’s been 50 years since the thalidomide drug scandal caused disabilities in thousands of UK babies, prompting the creation of the Yellow Card Scheme. MDDUS publications editor Jim Killgore finds out more on page 6. On page 10, Edinburgh GP


and acclaimed writer and polar traveller Gavin Francis talks about his sub-zero adventures working in Antarctica and the Arctic, where he mended broken bones and visited emperor penguins. Our career feature on page 8 looks at how to become a GP with a special interest in substance misuse, helping patients in all areas of their life. And our case study on page


14 highlights a failure to refer in the case of an enlarged mole.


• Dr Peter Livingstone Editor


taken to punish predatory behaviour, particularly when it involves vulnerable people. Doctors should also face more


serious consequences if they fail to apologise to patients when things go wrong. These views emerged in


response to a consultation by the regulator on its Indicative Sanctions Guidance for fitness to practise panels of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS). More than 2,000 people responded to the consultation which ran from August to November last year. Seventy eight per cent of


respondents thought panels should take more serious action in cases involving bullying, sexual harassment and physical violence towards colleagues and where


patients had been put at risk, while 61 per cent wanted stronger action against doctors who discriminated against colleagues or patients. Results also showed 79 per


cent agreed that the stage of a doctor’s career should be a mitigating factor when considering what action to take. GMC chief executive Niall Dickson said the new guidance would include an increased focus on saying sorry. He said: “In this consultation


we asked whether failing to apologise should affect the sanction a doctor faces, and there was strong support for this to be included in new guidance. Until now this has not been highlighted as one of the factors which are likely to affect sanctions - that is now likely to change.” The GMC will publish new


guidance for MPTS fitness to practise panels reflecting on the consultation in the summer.


CASH INCENTIVE FOR NEW GPs


EDITOR: Dr Peter Livingstone


CONTENT EDITOR: Dr Susan Gibson-Smith


ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Joanne Curran


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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 COVER PHOTO: DR GAVIN FRANCIS


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.


NEW doctors are being offered cash rewards if they choose to become GPs, as part of a £10 million campaign to boost numbers in the specialty. NHS England is implementing a range of measures to make general


practice a more attractive career move. Under the plan, the Guardian reports, medical graduates who agree


to work for three years as a trainee GP in areas in need of family doctors will receive “additional financial support”. They will also be offered an extra year’s training in another specialty of their choosing, or help with business skills. Four new GPs have recently been recruited to Leicester, Pulse


reported, after being offered a £20,000 incentive for committing to two years’ work.


The campaign follows reports in October 2014 that a large number of


GP training posts in England remained unfilled. Health Education England (HEE) confirmed an overall vacancy rate of 12.4 per cent, with that figure reaching 30 per cent in some of the worst affected areas. The RCGP is also taking part in the campaign. Chair Dr Maureen Baker


wrote a letter to 20,000 trainee doctors urging them to consider an “exciting” career in general practice, saying the specialty offers “a great deal of flexibility” and its future is “looking bright.” The College also released a three-minute promotional video in which GPs talk about how they find the specialty exciting and varied.


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