Intended for healthcare professionals

Careers

GMC issues flu guidance

BMJ 2009; 339 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b4637 (Published 11 November 2009) Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b4637

The General Medical Council has updated its guidance for doctors who may be working in a flu pandemic.

The guidance allows those clinicians specialising in areas least likely to be affected by a pandemic to work flexibly to provide assistance to clinical areas where help is most needed, so long as they are able to do so safely. An orthopaedic surgeon may be asked to support admissions to the emergency department or administer vaccines, for example.

Doctors will not be under a formal duty to report concerns about resources, equipment, or insufficient patient services, other than in exceptional circumstances.

The GMC also gives guidance on making decisions about which patients should receive treatment where resources are scarce. Allocation should be on the basis of clinical need and on the patient’s likely capacity to benefit. Young people should not be given automatic priority over adults, it says.

In addition, research programmes may be temporarily interrupted during a pandemic, says the guidance.

“Should a complaint be made against a doctor working under the strain of a pandemic, the GMC will take into account the circumstances under which they were working,” said Jane O’Brien, head of standards and ethics at the GMC. “However, it is important to note that all doctors should be ready to explain how and why they altered their practice if called upon to do so.”

There are also contingency arrangements for recruiting the next round of foundation year 1 trainees in the spring, according to David Grantham, head of programmes for NHS Employers. Interviews normally held in February may have to be postponed for a few weeks if the pandemic takes hold, he told Newshound.