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PAPERS: George Taylor Underperforming doctors: a postal survey of the Northern Deanery BMJ 1998; 316: 1705-1708 [Abstract] [Full text]

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TIME OF THE SURVEY

Stuart Wilkie   (9 June 1998)

Untitled

Guy Rotherham   (16 July 1998)

TIME OF THE SURVEY 9 June 1998
Stuart Wilkie, GENERAL PRACTITIONER CHADDESLEY CORBETT, WORCESTERSHIRE Send response to journal: Re: TIME OF THE SURVEY	I was concerned when I read this paper that the survey had been carried out in 1988. This may represent a simple error of detail. If it is true that the survey is over 10 years old I would question it's relevance. Clearly a lot has happened in General Practice since then. With reorganisation of complaints procedures for example and an increasing dissatisfaction expressed by patients about the care they receive from doctors it may have been more relevant to have repeated the study with some allowance for a patient perspective of doctors performance (where this can be substantiated to be unsatisfactory).
Untitled 16 July 1998
Guy Rotherham Send response to journal: Re: this article	EDITOR- I was interested to read George Taylor's recent and timely article on under-performing doctors(1), especially having personally devoted the last couple of year to addressing the subject. While finding myself in agreement with many of his findings I was concerned by the lack of reference to the report published last year by the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield(2). The report, commissioned by the Department of Health, provides a framework of practical guidance for health authorities, local medical committees and GP educationalists on developing local arrangements for supporting GPs whose performance gives cause for concern. The report was formally endorsed by the Department of Health in FHSL(97)39 which commended the guidance to regional offices, health authorities and local medical committees. In the words of the circular "the report draws on existing local developments to suggest a practical management framework for identifying doctors whose performance is deteriorating, for supporting them and remedying problems". It is worrying to note that contributors to Dr Taylor's research, which was conducted in early 1998, failed to cite a document commended to them only a few weeks before, particularly as the report had attracted widespread coverage from the GP media and broad support from professional bodies such as the GMC, the GMSC and the RCGP. Guy Rotherham Senior Research Fellow ScHARR Regent Court 30 Regent Street Sheffield S1 4DA Tele: 0114 2220792 1 Taylor G. Underperforming doctors: a postal survey of the Northern Deanery. BMJ 1998;316:1705-1708 2 Rotherham G, Martin D, Joesbury H, Mathers N. Measures to assist GPs whose performance gives cause for concern. University of Sheffield, ScHARR 1997