More thoughts prompted by the Bristol case

BMJ 1999;318:871 ( 27 March )

Letters

More thoughts prompted by the Bristol case

Damned if you do and damned if you don't?

Doctors must accept inevitable consequences of ageing

Damned if you do and damned if you don't?

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ I can readily identify myself as one of the two consultants principally concerned with the case of whistleblowing orprofessional assassination reported anonymously as a personalview.¹ Many of the problems we had with reporting poor performanceshould be resolved if the new formal procedures and assessmentsof the General Medical Council (GMC) work. However, the centralissue of a practitioner's first responsibility being to protectpatients from underperforming colleagues by speaking out remains.It will be difficult to reassure doctors about the consequencesto themselves of so reporting if, later, accusations of maliceor personal motives are cited. The alternative of anonymous reportingis unacceptable since it would then be easier to make maliciousaccusations and it is normal in law for people making accusationsto be available for cross examination by theaccused.

A major problem is for doctors to know at what point a level . . . [Full text of this article]

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BMJ 1998 317: 811. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]