My last covering letter for the January 2010 edition of Casebook, concerning the pressures the medical profession is under and how a doctor can be investigated four or five times for one adverse incident, produced an exceptional response from members – with more than 60 letters, emails and telephone calls. All of them echoed my concerns and were fully supportive of the changes that I believe are necessary if the strong level of trust between doctor and patient is not to be eroded.
A number of members urged that MPS should campaign for change and I know that at least two members forwarded my letter to their MP
Many of the letters were from members who were considering, or had already taken, early retirement because they no longer enjoyed practising medicine; due not in small part to the continual threat of prolonged investigation should there be a patient complaint about a less than perfect outcome. Others wrote that they were secretly hoping that their children would not enter medical school. There was certainly a general consensus that the working environment has deteriorated sharply over the last 10 to 20 years, with numerous anecdotes as to how their lives have changed for the worse over time.
A number of members urged that MPS should campaign for change and I know that at least two members forwarded my letter to their MP. A few, although supportive, were sceptical that we could ever persuade politicians and the public that the current systems of multiple jeopardy and disproportionate sanction do not serve the public or the profession well. I fully accept that it will be a tough campaign to achieve change but this letter is to assure you that we take this situation seriously and are not daunted by the task.
We are planning our next steps to raise public awareness, stimulate debate on what are reasonable expectations of doctors, and keep the issue firmly in the political arena. It is important that our stance is well-argued and properly researched, so one of the projects we have started is to gather information on how other professions are regulated – so that we are armed with the evidence that demonstrates objectively how the current position has become unreasonable and unacceptable.
We are planning our next steps to raise public awareness, stimulate debate on what are reasonable expectations of doctors, and keep the issue firmly in the political arena
Achieving media interest that produces balanced reporting will be a challenge, particularly if there is no sensational aspect to the story – but we will nevertheless try. I will update members on progress from time to time but if anyone has suggestions for different ways to pursue the campaign, I would very much appreciate hearing from you.
If anyone would like to read my previous letters, they can be accessed and downloaded from the MPS website. Each letter is stored under the corresponding issue of Casebook and you can find them by accessing the relevant issue.
The letter accompanying the January 2010 issue can be found here.
Yours faithfully
Tony Mason
Chief Executive