BMJ  2003;327:702 (27 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7417.702

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The quality enforcer

London

Suspending a doctor for poor performance is a drastic step. It's far better to get to the problem earlier in the day, says Alastair Scotland, head of the National Clinical Assessment Authority

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

A switch from plastic surgery to public health—from the most hands-on specialty to one of the least—is surely not among the more common career moves in medicine. But such is the route that Alastair Scotland has followed to his present job as chief officer and medical director of the National Clinical Assessment Authority.

"If you've ever done surgery, you do miss the excitement, the hurly burly of the acute situation," he admits. However, if part of the appeal of medicine is being able to observe the human drama at first hand, running the new authority is hardly short of drama—involving as it does advising on what to do for and about doctors in difficulty.

Perhaps even a bit too dramatic: isn't it depressing to have . . . [Full text of this article]

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The quality enforcer

Anthony J Manning
bmj.com, 30 Sep 2003 [Full text]

Re: The quality enforcer

christian destree
bmj.com, 2 Oct 2003 [Full text]

National Clinical Assessment Authority (NCAA) : Another Lost Opportunity To Be Of Some Exceedingly Useful Practical Service.

Joseph . C . Obi
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2005 [Full text]

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