“Disruptive” doctors are often found to be perfectionists, agency reports

Doctors’ disruptive behaviour will no longer be tolerated simply because they are good clinicians, warned Alistair Scotland, director of the National Clinical Assessment Service, last week.

Speaking at the annual conference in London of the decade old advisory body, which now covers the whole of the United Kingdom, Professor Scotland said, “The usual approach of saying, ‘I know he’s a prat, but he’s the best cutter in the hospital,’ is no longer acceptable, because a team that isn’t at peace with itself can’t be regarded as assuredly safe.

“Disruptive behaviour is not just unacceptable because it puts patients at risk. It’s also unfair to the practitioner who doesn’t …