NEWS DIGEST


with some form of extended hours but 94 per cent did not consider seven-day opening necessary in their own practices. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA GP committee chair, said: “GPs want to provide better services and spend more time with their patients, especially the increasing number of older people who often have a range of multiple health needs that require intensive, coordinated care.


“Unfortunately, this landmark poll highlights that GPs’ ability to care for patients is being seriously undermined by escalating workload, inadequate resourcing and unnecessary paperwork.”


GMC granted right to appeal rulings judged too lenient


Dentists face FFT requirement DENTISTS in England are now


required to offer all NHS patients attending their practice the means to provide feedback through the Friends and Family Test (FFT). FFT was introduced in 2013 and has


been rolled out across England in A&E departments, GP practices and in NHS- funded mental health and community health services. In April the test was further expanded into other areas of NHS care including dental practices, ambulance services and acute hospital outpatient centres.


In implementing the test, dental


practices are required to use a standard wording in posing the question and the possible responses: “We would like you to think about your recent experiences of our service. How likely are you to recommend our dental practice to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment?” Patients are asked to respond:


‘Extremely likely’, ‘Likely’, ‘Neither likely nor unlikely’, ‘Unlikely’, ‘Extremely unlikely’, or ‘Don’t know’. Practices are also required to include


at least one follow-up question which allows the opportunity to provide free text. Patients do not need to be asked to respond to the FFT question after every


● DRUG DRIVING LAW COMES INTO FORCE A new offence for driving with certain medications over specified blood concentrations came into effect in March in England and Wales and is intended to bring enforcement more in line


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interaction, but they should be made aware that feedback is welcome at any time. Data from the FFT must be submitted


to NHS England each month and results should be published or displayed locally. More detail on implementing the test is available on the NHS England website.


10 minutes not enough, say GPs


A MAJORITY of GPs in the UK feel that the standard 10-minute consultation is inadequate for the needs of all patients, according to a major new survey. Over 15,000 GPs across the UK were polled by the BMA on a variety of issues and the survey found that over two-thirds (68 per cent) believe there should be longer consultations for certain groups of patients, including those with long-term conditions. A quarter of GPs said that all patients need more time with their GP. Workload was also a serious issue, with


93 per cent of GPs saying that their heavy workload had negatively impacted on the quality of patient services. Just over half (51 per cent) said they would be willing to explore options to improve patient access


with that for drink driving. It will operate in addition to the existing law on drug-impaired driving. More information can found on the MHRA website including advice for healthcare providers and for patients.


FITNESS to practise rulings judged too lenient will be subject to appeal by the GMC under new changes to the Medical Act. Parliament has recently approved the changes which will allow the GMC to appeal tribunal rulings handed down by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), which operates separately from the GMC. This would apply in fitness to practise cases in which the regulator considers rulings do not sufficiently protect the public. Reform of the Act will also establish the MPTS as a statutory body. In addition, there will be changes in the way complaints about doctors are handled, including streamlining fitness to practise procedures, the


introduction of legally qualified chairs for some tribunals, and giving power to the tribunals to award costs against the GMC or the doctor if either has “not complied with directions and has behaved unreasonably”. Niall Dickson, Chief Executive of the GMC, said: “The new right of appeal and the establishment of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service as a statutory body are major reforms in UK professional regulation. They will


● CHILDREN “EMBARRASSED TO SMILE” Thirty-five per cent of 12-year-olds and 28 per cent of 15-year-olds said they felt self-conscious when smiling and laughing because of visible tooth decay, according to figures from


the Children’s Dental Health (CDH) Survey 2013. However, there was a drop in the proportions of 12 and 15-year-olds with obvious decay in their adult teeth since the last survey in 2003. Access full results at http://goo.gl/vP4z7t


SUMMONS


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