We must be able to trust doctors - Better oversight of practitioners

MOST people implicitly trust their doctor, which probably explains why, relatively speaking, the Medical Council receives so few complaints about them. With millions of patients attending local GPs, it is fair to say that a total of 369 complaints about doctors is not a lot.

And yet, worryingly, the figure reflects an upward trend steadily on the increase. Overall, the number of complaints against doctors increased by 19% last year, according to its annual report for 2015. It is particularly concerning that five doctors were struck off the register last year, compared to only one the previous year. This illustrates a disturbing trend and highlights the need for much closer vetting of applicants, especially in hospitals, which tend to be chronically understaffed, thus increasing the risk of someone masquerading as a doctor slipping through the net, with all that implies.

It is also worrying that complaints about communication, or rather the lack of it, were up by 40%. That is completely unacceptable. Even in a busy surgery, a doctor can be under pressure, but there can be no excuse for not taking time to tell a patient about a diagnosis properly, or treating them with dignity. Not surprisingly, most complaints were made by members of the public but it is surprising that only 25 complaints were made by other healthcare professionals. Astonishingly, only two complaints were made by the HSE — a case, perhaps, of ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’?