Medical Malpractice study from the UK suggests that complaints seriously impact doctors’ psychological wellbeing
A report has been published in the BMJ on 4 July 2016 on “Doctors’ experiences and their perception of the most stressful aspects of complaints processes in the UK”. Whilst it is a UK study, the results may be of interest to relevant parties in Australia. The report is based on responses from over 6,000 doctors who have experienced a complaint in the UK.
Recent years have seen the number of patients who make a complaint about their doctor increase significantly in the UK; For example in the UK, patients’ complaints against general practitioners (GPs) more than doubled between 2007 and 2012. In most cases complaints relate to issues about clinical competence. Social media has been cited as one of the main drivers for this growth. Complaints seriously impact on doctors’ psychological wellbeing, and are associated with defensive practise. This is not beneficial to patient care. To improve procedures, doctors propose they are simplified, time limited and more transparent.
The full report can be accessed here.
