Is the BMJ fit for purpose?

doi:10.1136/bmj.39303.684236.3A

BMJ 2007;335:318 (18 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.39303.684236.3A

Letters

The profession's future

Is the BMJ fit for purpose?

The first 100% of the full text of this article appears below.

Where is the evidence for Jones's statement that the Shipman,Bristol, and Alder Hey inquiries, and a litany of errors, shookthe foundations of public trust and professional confidence?¹My attempts to elicit such evidence from him have so far beenunsuccessful. I am aware, however, of a MORI poll that suggestedthat confidence in the medical profession had not been dented.²

In this evidence based age, the journal's editor should ensurethat her editorialists provide evidence for their assertions.False premises make for unreliable conclusions.

One basis for stating that Shipman has dented patient confidenceis that the government wants it to be so, because this servesto promote the wasteful non-starter called revalidation.

Oliver R Dearlove, consultant anaesthetist

Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Manchester M27 4HA

o.dearlove@man.ac.uk

Competing interests: ORD has received a warning from the GMCand therefore is considered fit to practise.

Jones R. The future of the medical profession. BMJ 2007;335:53. (14 July.)[Free Full Text]
Medical scandals leave trust in doctors unshaken. http://society.guardian.co.uk/nhsperformance/story/0,,487612,00.html