05.09.16
GMC could investigate striking doctors if they risk patient safety
Junior doctors have been urged to consider the impact of next week’s five-day strike on patient safety, with the General Medical Council (GMC) hinting that it could investigate them if they fail to fulfil their duties.
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced the unprecedented strike, due to start on 12 September, after its members voted to reject a new contract they had agreed with the government.
Today the GMC, which plays no official role in the negotiations, warned that the action is likely to have a more severe impact on patient safety than previous strikes.
Niall Dickson, outgoing chief executive and registrar of the GMC, said: “The question each doctor must ask before taking action is whether what they are proposing to do is likely to cause significant harm to patients under his or her care or who otherwise would have come under his or her care. This is a matter of professional duty and we expect each doctor to comply with it.”
He reminded junior doctors that the Medical Act 1983 gives the GMC the power to investigate and place sanctions on junior doctors who consistently or seriously fail to “put their patients first and protect them from harm”.
Dickson urged junior doctors to “pause and consider the possible implications for patients” of further industrial action. He added: “Where we are presented with evidence that a doctor’s actions may have directly led to a patient or patients coming to significant harm, we would be obliged to investigate and if necessary take appropriate action.”
Dickson said, as he did before the first total withdrawal of care by doctors in April, that junior doctors should return to work if to do otherwise would put patients in danger.
He also issued guidelines for doctors in leadership positions, saying they should “do everything possible” to make sure patients are protected during the industrial action.
Professor Terence Stephenson, chair of the GMC, said: “The health service is under huge pressure. During previous industrial action all doctors went to considerable lengths to make sure that patients continued to receive a good and safe level of care. We know that doctors will again want to do their utmost to reduce the risk of harm and suffering to patients.
“However, it is hard to see how this can be avoided this time around. To suggest otherwise would be a disservice to the enormous contribution made by doctors in training to the care and treatment of NHS patients every day. We therefore do not believe that the scale of action planned at such short notice can be justified and we are now calling on every doctor in training to pause and consider the implications for patients.”
In addition, NHS Providers and the NHS Confederation called on the BMA to reconsider the strikes.
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said the strikes would lead to 125,000 operations and over 1m appointments being cancelled, and agreed with the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges that the strikes were “disproportionate.”
“With barely any notice for trusts to prepare, this unprecedented level of strike action will cause major disruption and risk patient safety,” he added.
Stephen Dalton, chief executive of NHS Confederation, said: “We believe these strikes are disproportionate. We also don’t think there is a strong mandate for the additional strikes given they go well beyond the initial planned action. This will only cause further disruption to patient care and services and we urge the BMA to reconsider.”
(Image c. Andrew Matthews)
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