Medical Protection Society (MPS) has called for radical reform to how the General Medical Council (GMC) investigates doctors, as new research reveals significant numbers are experiencing suicidal thoughts or quitting medicine as a result of their investigation.
In an MPS survey of nearly 200 doctors who have been investigated by the medical regulator in the last five years, 78% said the investigation had a detrimental impact on their mental health and 91% said it caused stress and anxiety. 8% of the 197 doctors surveyed quit medicine due to the investigation, and a further 29% considered leaving. Nearly a third (31%) said they experienced suicidal thoughts during the investigation.
In the survey, 69% of doctors said the length of the investigation impacted on their mental health most, with some lasting years. 64% said the tone of communications from the GMC affected them most. Doctors commenting anonymously spoke of a ‘guilty until proven innocent’ tone in the initial GMC letter.
MPS, which protects the professional interests of over 300,000 healthcare professionals around the world, including support with regulatory investigations, called on both the GMC and the Government to take ‘every possible step’ to reduce the number of doctors 'needlessly dragged through this process' and improve how investigations are handled.
Dr. Rob Hendry, Medical Director at MPS, said: “We understand the GMC exists to protect the public, and must investigate serious complaints. But there is no reason why it cannot operate and communicate with doctors under investigation with more compassion. Finding out your fitness to practise is being called into question can be devastating, and it is easy to see how quickly a doctor’s mental health could deteriorate if they feel they are considered ‘guilty’ from the outset.
“The GMC has made many improvements to its initial communication with doctors, but more is needed. For example, the first letter to a doctor could alleviate some anxiety by setting out the GMC’s legal requirement to investigate all complaints and its policy for dealing with any malicious complaints – which are a huge source of stress for doctors and can take months to resolve.
“The language in the GMC letter and case examiners report when an investigation has been closed with no further action, can also have a detrimental effect on a doctor’s mental health. Many felt it implied ‘we’ll get you next time’ and I have heard doctors describe this as feeling like they have the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.
“Above all else however, the Government and the GMC must ensure fewer doctors are dragged through this extremely stressful process unnecessarily. For the Government this means progressing GMC reform with urgency to give the regulator more discretion to not take forward investigations where allegations clearly do not require action."
Responding to the MPS survey, Charlie Massey, Chief Executive of the GMC, said: "We are required by law to consider any concerns about a doctor's fitness to practise and we know receiving a complaint can be a cause of great distress and anxiety for doctors. We have made a number of improvements to take a more compassionate and proportionate approach, and to reduce the impact of our processes on all involved in an investigation.
"Our Outreach team work closely with employers when there is a concern about a doctor, using provisional enquiries to reduce the need for full GMC investigations and, in some cases, avoiding the need for one altogether by managing concerns locally instead. If we do need to investigate a concern, we will now always make initial contact by phone, and we provide a range of support services for doctors who are under investigation or have been referred to a tribunal. For doctors who are unwell, we work with local systems to provide specialist support when we receive a concern about their fitness to practise. We are always seeking to make improvements, and that includes acting on feedback about how we can make things better.
"But the 40-year-old legislation that governs us constrains us from making further much-needed reforms, which would allow us to eliminate unnecessary investigations and instead concentrate on supporting doctors to deliver first-class care to patients."
