Sharp rise in number of complaints about doctors

THERE were 361 complaints against doctors to the Irish Medical Council in 2010, the Irish Examiner can reveal.

The figure is the highest in years and is a significant increase on 2009, when there were 295 complaints to the council, which is the regulatory and registration body for doctors

Of the doctors reported to the council in 2010, 23 were complained about more than once and some complaints involved more than one doctor, leaving the total number of doctors complained about last year at 384.