Patients' complaints: GMC could do better

The General Medical Council (GMC) needs to improve the quality of its customer care if it is to retain public trust, according to a survey conducted by Health Which? (October 1999).

After advertising in national newspapers for complainants the magazine surveyed the experiences of 264 patients who had contacted the GMC about a complaint. In only six of these cases was any action taken against a doctor. Eighty two per cent said that they were dissatisfied with the fairness of the process and 85% were left with a more negative impression …