Today I was at my Citroen garage to have a malfunctioning driver’s side door handle replaced. I had problems getting in and out of the car. The problematic door handle should have been replaced 2 weeks ago when I and the car were present at the garage for other repairs. But on that occasion, I was told that the chap who did the painting had not done it as he was supposed to, had arrived at the premises, and would ...
The Bolam test originates from the UK case Bolam v. Friern Hospital Management Committee [1957] 1 WLR 582. This legal precedent was set in a negligence case involving medical treatment, establishing a principle that would profoundly influence the standard of care in medical negligence cases not only in the UK but also in various jurisdictions around the world. The principle is rooted in determining whether a healthcare professional has acted in accordance with a practice accepted as proper by a ...
This blog has considered a number of issues relevant to prescribing of medications. Paragraph 98 in the 2022 version, is one of the most powerful. It is squarely designed to protect patients. The paragraph numbers may have changed in the 2024 version but the thrust of the guidance remains essentially the same. You are responsible for any prescription you sign, including repeat prescriptions for medicines initiated by colleagues, so you must make sure that any repeat prescription you sign is ...
Complaints – the very word can strike a chord in many of us, especially doctors working within the NHS, a system deeply rooted in service to the public. We understand that patients or their loved ones expressing dissatisfaction are ultimately highlighting opportunities for improvement. It is crucial that these concerns are met with a robust complaints process, ensuring a just and thorough examination of issues raised. Yet, balance is equally essential – the rights of those responding to a complaint ...
“Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates,” written by sociologist Erving Goffman and published in 1961, is a seminal work in the field of sociology and particularly in the study of social institutions and mental health care. The book offers a profound analysis of life in “total institutions,” particularly focusing on psychiatric hospitals. The work has had a significant impact on the field of psychiatry and the broader understanding of institutional settings such as extended ...
The case of Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11 is a landmark decision in the UK law of medical negligence, specifically in relation to the duty of a doctor towards a patient in relation to advice about treatment. It fundamentally altered the legal approach to patient consent and disclosure of risks by healthcare professionals. Materiality explained The concept of materiality was brought to the forefront of UK medical law in Montgomery. The Supreme Court held that a risk ...
Introduction In the inner sanctums of the UK’s medical community, the words ‘General Medical Council‘ (GMC) often resonates with an undercurrent of apprehension, scepticism and cynicism. These sentiments were born from years of navigating the complex interplay between rigorous professional standards and the harsh realities of medical practice. For many seasoned doctors, the GMC is perceived not as an ally but as an imposing entity, distant from the daily grind of patient care and quick to impose what seems like ...
I can tell you from real professional experience across the last 15 years that: Caution: I said the above was my experience and I am being 100% honest in my estimates on that. I do not know if my estimates apply to a total population of all doctors in the UK. I read parts of three key guidance documents (of 34) almost every day over the last 8 months. Over the last 5 years on average I would have read ...
Too often in psychiatry we are faced with the problem of tail risk. The basic idea is ‘low probability high impact‘ events. This commonly presents among relatively stable patients in contrast to patients in an acute phase of disturbance. Some patients may have an established pattern of only one or two short-lived periods of disturbance per year where they present risks of suicide, homicide or violence, or arson. In any of those short-lived blips it is possible that serious harm ...
In this article I focus mainly on public sector health care consultations. It is an open ‘secret’ that UK public health services are: short of staff, doctors are overworked, many groups of staff are suffering with burnout, clinic sessions are quite time-limited, follow-up visits are few and far between, patients are often not given sufficient time and support to ask questions. Following a concentrated first consultation for between 45 to 60 minutes, it is difficult for patients to remember all ...
