|
London: Doctors will face annual assessments so licences can be removed from poor performers, under proposals to be outlined by Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson on Wednesday..
General Practioners, hospital consultants and private practitioners will also have to renew their licences every five years.
Sir Liam will call for senior doctors to assess others to ensure they are not putting patients at risk. Patients will also be asked for feedback.
The report will also suggest steps to ensure that doctors keep up with medical advances. The annual assessments will look at prescribing habits, adequate assessment of a patient's condition and any personal issues which might affect their work, such as a problem with drugs or alcohol.
The General Medical Council has been discussing the revalidation of doctors for almost a decade and took into consideration the Harold Shipman case in the discussions on revalidation.
Dr Shipman, who murdered at least 215 patients by giving morphine injections between 1975 and 1998, was addicted to the painkiller pethidine and unlawfully acquired the diamorphine he used to kill.
Yesterday's report is expected to say that regular assessment would raise standards among the 150,000 doctors in Britain rather than being a way to discipline those who do cause concern.
At its annual staff and associate specialist conference last month, the GMC said legislation is expected early next year to allow it to introduce licensing. A government White Paper published in February last year set out a programme of reform for the regulation of health professionals.
Meanwhile, a new drive to cut the number of people given antibiotics for common coughs and colds was launched today.
Figures show that a quarter of people in England and Wales will visit their GP every year because of symptoms of a respiratory tract infection.
Antibiotics
They account for 60 per cent of all antibiotic prescribing in general practice - a figure health experts are trying to drive down. Over-prescribing of antibiotics has been linked to the development of "superbugs", which become resistant to most forms of the drug. Evidence also shows that antibiotics have limited effectiveness in treating most tract infections and complications are rare if antibiotics are withheld.
Yesterday, a guideline published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence said doctors should hold back from prescribing antibiotics for respiratory infections in children and adults. Earlier this year, it was reported that 38 million prescriptions for antibiotics were written by GPs last year at a cost to the NHS of £175 million (Dh1.3 billion).
- Evening Standard
Have you ever had a bad experience during a medical treatment? What recourse did you seek? Do you think such competence tests should be introduced across the world? Why? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form bellow to send your comments.
|
