Doctors' faith in the GMC falls, while the public's rises

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7552.1232-a

BMJ 2006;332:1232 (27 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7552.1232-a

News roundup

Doctors’ faith in the GMC falls, while the public’s rises

London Madeleine Brettingham

Doctors’ trust in the UK General Medical Council is falling, while public confidence in medical regulation is at its highest point in years, says a new survey that shows a shift in the GMC’s public profile.

A year ago, 39% of doctors and about one half of patients lacked confidence in the way that medicine was regulated. In 2006, two thirds of patients say that they are happy with the system whereas nearly one half of doctors have lost trust in it. The poll was of more than 400 doctors and almost 1000 members of the public.

The GMC’s latest annual tracking survey shows how things have changed for the organisation, which faced a period of unprecedented upheaval after the 2000 conviction of Harold Shipman, and Dame Janet Smith’s inquiry, which heavily criticised the GMC for failing patients (BMJ 2005;330:10).

Although doctors at the 2000 BMA . . . [Full text of this article]

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