The Medical Defence Union revealed it sees very few medical manslaughter investigations a year against doctors. But the UK's leading medical defence organisation says that the criminal investigation is often just the tip of the iceberg and that many other investigations often follow, which can have a devastating effect on a doctor's life, reputation and career.

The Medical Defence Union (MDU) helped 18 members with manslaughter investigations in a clinical setting between 2000 and 2010, with just 5 cases progressing to trial and 3 doctors being convicted.

Articles in the latest edition of the MDU Journal*, point out that while such cases are of course catastrophic for the patient who dies and their family, it can be extremely distressing for the doctor involved, who can face a series of lengthy investigations. Author, Dr Michael Devlin, the MDU's head of advisory services, said:

"It is right that doctors should be subject to the same rules that apply to other professionals who cause death by gross negligence but there is a huge difference in their ability to mitigate risk. As has been recently seen in the news, airline staff can take planes out of service if there is a safety concern but doctors have a duty to provide the best possible treatment in the patient's best interests, even if the circumstances are not ideal.

"In many cases the fatal mistake leading to a manslaughter investigation is a combination of human error, system breakdown or failure at a higher management level. But individual doctors can still be singled out for blame.

"An incident can trigger a whole series of enquiries whose aim is to establish the truth and punish the doctor, if appropriate. For example, as well as the manslaughter prosecution, the doctor can face a GMC investigation and fitness to practise hearing, an inquest, an employer's investigation, a compensation claim and trial by media. The one consolation is that the MDU can help and support the doctor at every stage."

Dr Devlin believes the number of criminal investigations against doctors could be reduced if organisations learnt from mistakes and near misses by encouraging healthcare staff to analyse what went wrong and develop strategies to prevent a recurrence. He says there is no need to wait for the terrible outcome that leads to a manslaughter prosecution to do this, commenting that: "Such opportunities arise in less dramatic circumstances every day, such as when the notes that mention a drug allergy are missing or a patient's abnormal test results are not followed-up."

Elsewhere in the Journal, Dr Rupert Lee examines how the MDU assesses the extent and type of medico-legal difficulties which are likely to arise from emerging medical techniques, while Dr Karen Roberts looks at some end-of-life dilemmas.

*When an error becomes and crime and Multiple jeopardy, by Dr Michael Devlin, both appear in the December 2010 edition of the MDU Journal, Volume 26 Issue 2 pp 7 - 10

Source:
The MDU