Explore resources to help you manage your practice and support your team, including making the most of the services available to you with a Medical Protection group scheme.
Child J, a one-week-old baby girl, was noticed to have a clicking right hip when she was seen by the community midwife. A referral to the orthopaedic clinic was requested and Child J was reviewed by orthopaedic junior doctor, Dr M, three weeks later. Dr M confirmed that there was no relevant family history and examined Child J.
Mrs X asked her GP to refer her eightyear-old daughter, Child F, to be assessed by a consultant psychiatrist in child and adolescent mental health. The GP referral letter stated that Child F had reported to her teacher that her father frequently touched her genitalia.
Mr B, a 42-year-old builder, attended his GP, Dr S, with a three-week history of back pain and left sided sciatica. Dr S found nothing of concern on further questioning or examination, so made a referral for physiotherapy and recommended ibuprofen.
Mrs S, a 27-year-old Romanian woman who lived with her husband in the UK, became pregnant and presented to her local GP surgery to commence antenatal care. Mrs S did not speak English and usually brought a family member with her to interpret.
Mrs S was a 36-year-old patient diagnosed with a benign giant cell tumour of the sacrum. She was seen by Mr A, consultant in orthopaedic oncology, and listed for resection of the lesion.
Mrs L, a teacher, was first prescribed the oral contraceptive pill microgynon by her GP, Dr G, when she was 17. Her blood pressure was taken and recorded as normal. At this time, no other mention was made in the records of her risk profile or family history.
Mrs Y, a 39-year-old chef, opted to M see consultant obstetrician Mr B for private antenatal care. It was her first pregnancy and other than a BMI of 30 she had no pre-existing medical problems.
Mr P, a right-handed project manager, developed a stiff right elbow following a previous injury, and had reached the limit of his progress with physiotherapy. X-rays showed degenerative changes and he was referred to an orthopaedic consultant, Mr A, who diagnosed osteoarthritis of his elbow.
Mr K was a 36-year-old man who ran a pub. Mr K smoked and drank heavily. Mr K’s dentist had noticed a painless swelling on the right side of his neck during a routine check-up and asked him to see his GP.
Mrs B was a 27-year-old secretary with a ten-year-old daughter. She had just enjoyed a trip to Pakistan where she had been visiting relations. Three days after her return she developed profuse, watery diarrhoea.
This workshop will give you a firm grounding in ways to improve reliability, which can result in reduced risk for yourself and your patients. With patient expectations increasing, this is a great opportunity to embrace quality of care improvements. The workshop also discusses the complex relationship between innovation and reliability, as well as the role played by human error.
Patients overtly coerced into undergoing treatment they do not want can rightly claim that their “consent” was not given freely and is therefore not valid. Cases of overt coercion are rare, but there are circumstances in which patients may feel that they have been covertly pushed into accepting treatment they would prefer not to have had. For example, in some circumstances patients may find it very difficult to say “No” to the proposed treatment, or to challenge the doctor’s assumption that they would have no objections to going ahead.
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Learning From Events
With more than 300 million patients consulting with primary care teams annually it’s unfortunately inevitable that a proportion will suffer some form of unintentional harm, mostly of low to moderate severity. Research has suggested that around 1-2% of consultations in primary care are associated with an adverse event. The cost of harm – to patients, to those working in healthcare, and to productivity – is significant.
Whether it’s a revised piece of GMC guidance, or a Bill going through the Scottish Parliament, we use our expertise to inform debates about changes that could affect your practice.
Opinion: Failure to test for HIV infection: A medicolegal question?
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Dr Michael Rayment and Dr Ann Sullivan, Department of Sexual Health and HIV Medicine, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust (on behalf of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, and the British HIV Association).
MPS has seen a steady rise in the number of claims involving practice nurses, with ‘delay in diagnosis’ being the most common type of claim. Kate Taylor, Clinical Risk Manager, MPS Educational Services, reveals more
A common question in general practice: “Ms P’s fit note runs out on Monday – can you do her another one?” Your answer should be considered carefully as the following case illustrates, explains Dr Rachel Birch, GP and medicolegal adviser at MPS
Over half of respondents to an MPS survey admitted to regret over their failure to raise concerns in the workplace. Gareth Gillespie looks at how obstacles to whistleblowing can be overcome.
Unemployment reduces wellbeing. Recession raises the demands on healthcare systems and makes it harder to pay for them. Doctors worldwide are having to adapt and change to cope with these additional pressures, says Sarah Whitehouse
Complaints to the regulator against doctors have hit a record high, rising more sharply than for any other health professional. Is this down to poor practice or a changing complaints culture? Sara Williams investigates
Consent is a fundamental principle of medical law. The basic rule is simple: no-one has the right to touch anyone else without lawful excuse and if doctors do so it may well undermine patients’ trust.
Read real-life cases of complaints, claims and clinical negligence taken from our archives.
Chosen to give you clear learning points to help you avoid similar situations and reduce your risk, the cases also feature advice from medicolegal experts.
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