In 2011, patient complaints were the top concern among doctors who contacted the Medical and Dental Defense Union of Scotland (MDDUS) for advice. Over one fifth of all medico-legal contacts were from doctors looking for advice on patient complaints.
The trend underlines that there is an increased awareness amongst doctors of having to be more proactive and rapidly respond to patient worries.
For the sixth year in a row, the number of calls the MDDUS has received from members seeking advice on medico-legal matters has increased.
Compared to 2010, the number of calls the team of medical advisers at UK-wide MDDUS received from members seeking advice rose by over 5% in 2011.
Members contacted MDDUS on a wide-variety of issues ranging from GMC matters to ethical dilemmas in clinical practice, via letter, email or telephone. 22% of all contacts from members regarded patient complaints, 9% confidentiality, and 7% relating to claims for compensation.
Although the increase in calls can partially be explained by the steady growth in MDDUS membership throughout the UK, MDDUS medical adviser Dr Barry Parker highlights other tends in the previous year:
“There is a greater awareness amongst doctors that they should seek advice at the earliest possible opportunity.
One area where we are noticing a growing number of calls is in relation to raising concerns about professional colleagues, an issue that has been the subject of recent detailed guidance provided by the General Medical Council.
In addition, there have been a large number of enquiries relating to disclosure of information in potential child abuse cases, another topic that has been the focus of a GMC consultation process.
General practice is becoming more regulated and this is directly reflected in requests for advice. Doctors appear to be more risk aware and proactive in dealing with potential problems.
Our members – wherever they are based in the UK – are offered rapid access to ethical advice. I think they find our service very approachable and as a result are comfortable about contacting us again in the future.”
In addition, MDDUS employment law service, which is now in its second year, has seen an increase in call levels. The service continues to receive outstanding feedback from members who appreciate the level of support they receive.
As the only defense organization, MDDUS offers its members with employment responsibilities access to a specialized in-house team that only deals with medical and dental practices, providing advice and guidance on HR and employment law matters.
MDDUS employment law advise Janice Sibbald, explained:
“We have seen an increase in calls from members, with the most popular topics of advice being contractual issues, managing long and short-term absence and managing performance issues.”
Over the 12-month period, the employment law team have handled an increase in requests for advice, of which 19% were dental and 81% medical. 60% of these calls were from practices in Scotland, while the remaining 40% were from the rest of the UK.
Sibbald, said:
“As well as offering advice to members, we provide training and present at conferences to help ensure members are up to date with the latest employment law issues. We are also able to provide factsheets and template contracts and policies to support practices with their day-to-day issues.”
Written by Grace Rattue