Only 50% of doctors say safety fears should be reported

Only half of doctors agree that all concerns about patient safety should be reported, a survey by the Medical Council has found.

However, almost one in seven doctors said they had direct personal knowledge of a doctor who was impaired or incompetent and the council asked if this was good enough.

Only 41% of doctors reported a significantly impaired or incompetent colleague; 36% spoke to the doctor concerned and 18% stopped referring their patients to the doctor.