Assessing doctors - Great — but it should be transparent

WE ARE fortunate enough to live in a society that can afford to sustain an expectation of efficient healthcare provision in our dispensaries and hospitals.

A new scheme, beginning in April, will assess the competencies of consultants, public health doctors and those working in private practice. This can only benefit the medical profession and its patients.

However, the scheme’s potential to build public confidence in our medical services is undermined by the fact that the results of these assessments will not be made available. Like teachers, doctors have managed to sustain a privileged position behind a Maginot Line of professional omertá.