Doctors Association UK (DAUK) has co-signed a letter to health minister Karin Smyth.

In the letter, led by the Medical Protection Society, the coalition of 32 organisations describe the proposal to remove the health category as a ‘significant step backwards’.

The proposal was put forward by the previous government in its consultation on reform of the Medical Act.

Health category

Currently, in cases where doctors are investigated under the health category of impairment, the GMC can use language which acknowledges the health concerns about the doctor without having to use pejorative terminology around misconduct.

It is able to put in place measures to protect the doctor such as some, or all of the hearings, being held in private and the focus is on aiding recovery and return to practice in addition to patient safety.

Under the new plans, concerns about doctors with a health issue would have to be investigated on the grounds of ‘inability to provide care to a sufficient standard’ and/or ‘misconduct’.

This is language the group claim is inappropriate and could deter doctors from seeking early help.

GMC concerns

The GMC has also outlined similar concerns.

GMC data shows that it recorded health as a category of impairment in nearly 1,000 of the investigations it conducted over the last six years.

This amounts to almost one in five (17%) of all investigations. In half of these cases (49%) the doctor self-referred to the GMC.

The letter, said: “Our intention is to highlight one small but important step that the Government could take to protect the most vulnerable doctors during a regulatory investigation.

“Our focus on this area, is based on a shared view that supporting the wellbeing of doctors is an essential component of maintaining high quality, safe patient care.

“The impact of a GMC investigation on doctors’ mental wellbeing is well documented.”

In an MPS survey of nearly 200 doctors who have been investigated, 78% said it harmed their mental health and almost 31% reported experiencing suicidal thoughts during the process.

This impact will be even greater for doctors who have existing health concerns.

“Significant progress has been made by the GMC to reduce the impact on doctors facing a fitness to practise investigation, and reduce the number of suicides during the process.

Investigate doctors

“Current provisions within the Medical Act, particularly the ability to investigate doctors under the health category, have been central to this progress.

“It was therefore a significant step backwards when proposals for reform were put forward by the previous government that would have the effect of removing it.

“We strongly urge you to retain health as a distinct category. This would protect doctors at one of the most challenging moments of their lives, improve their retention in the workforce, while safeguarding patients. Crucially, it would help towards ensuring that doctors who are unwell feel supported rather than driven out.”

DAUK committee members are all volunteers and campaign on issues facing frontline doctors in their own time. Please support our work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe.

Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) is extremely concerned at the number of suicides revealed by the GMC Report into deaths of doctors while under investigation for their practice (Supporting vulnerable doctors. Report on doctors who have died while under investigation or during a period of monitoring) but calls for investigations to be done as swiftly as due diligence and thoroughness will allow. 

The report states that over the 3-year period (1 Jan 2018 – 31 Dec 2020) 29 doctors died while under GMC investigation or monitoring. Twenty of these were from natural causes, five were confirmed as suicide. 

DAUK recognises the importance of maintaining the highest professional standards and welcomes the transparency shown as well as the commitment to publish this data every three years by the GMC. Inevitably, the process of GMC investigation can cause the worst stress in a doctor’s career and damage both their physical and mental wellbeing. We remain concerned about the length of time these investigations take – we have heard cases where this has been in excess of 2 years. Quite often it is then difficult for people under investigations to find any employment. If they are from overseas, they also run the risk of their visa running out if they cannot find employment in that time. 

GP Dr Liz Croton, a member of DAUK’s GP Committee, said:

‘DAUK has supported a number of doctors undergoing GMC investigation over the years. We are aware of how distressing this process is for individuals and their families. We welcome this report from the GMC and we would support any process that aims to learn from these tragic events to better support doctors undergoing investigation.”

DAUK Chair Dr Jenny Vaughan said: 

“Investigations have to be thorough –  but so does the need to ensure the psychological wellbeing of the doctor under investigation. The tragedy of someone taking their own life is a devastating event and must be avoided, as far as possible. Urgent legislative reform is needed as this should allow greater flexibility to resolve concerns more quickly.  Publishing these findings is a positive step forward. The government should ensure reform of the GMC and its Fitness to Practice procedures is brought forward as a top priority.”

See our press release.