One of the most difficult situations faced by any clinician is when you are concerned that a colleague’s behaviour, health or professional performance may be placing patients at risk. This factsheet outlines your duty to raise concerns when patients may be at risk of harm.

Consent is an individualised process based on respect – it is more than a signature on a form, says medicolegal adviser Dr Gordon McDavid

Medical Protection sets out guidance on factors that members will need to consider should the junior doctor ballot be in favour of industrial action.

Medical Protection’s Medicolegal Adviser Dr Clare Redmond discusses how to manage a situation where a patient asks to be discharged

Dr Varun Shankar gives an insight into a busy day on the neurosurgery wards.

Advancements in medical technology can bring huge benefits for patients and clinicians alike – but new approaches can also mean new risks. Dr Helen Hartley, Head of Underwriting Policy at Medical Protection, looks at where the liability lies for artificial intelligence.

An inquest is a fact-finding exercise that is conducted by the coroner and, in some cases, in front of a jury. The purpose of an inquest is to find out who died – when, where, how and in what circumstances. This factsheet gives further information about what happens at an inquest.

Dr Aaron Madhok reflects on his time working in Africa

Poor communication between doctors lies at the heart of many complaints, claims and disciplinary actions. Dr Mark Dinwoodie, consultant in medical education, explains the importance of maintaining good relationships with colleagues and communicating effectively with other health professionals

Dr James Thorpe, Medicolegal Adviser at Medical Protection, reflects on a common issue where junior doctors are asked to perform roles outside their competence, in particular taking informed consent for surgical procedures and other invasive investigations

Dr Ben White, a Medical Protection Medicolegal Adviser, discusses the use of chaperones during intimate examinations

Foundation doctors are increasingly using social media and smartphone apps to communicate with each other and senior colleagues. While this has many advantages, there are pitfalls to consider. Dr James Thorpe, Medicolegal Adviser at Medical Protection, investigates.

In this series we explore the key risk areas in general practice

Dr Neil Bacon, founder of www.iwantgreatcare.org, discusses how to maximise the potential of patient feedback.

Complaints to the regulator against doctors have hit a record high, rising more sharply than for any other health professional. Is this down to poor practice or a changing complaints culture? Sara Williams investigates

I wake up bolt upright at 5.30am. I look in the mirror and realise I’ve inadvertently left my false eyelashes on from the previous day’s telly. They hang rather precariously from my upper lids – my mascara is half way down my cheeks and my hair is doing a good impersonation of Jedward. My husband rolls over and states that I look like a drag queen and promptly falls back to sleep.

If you are a doctor and want to practise medicine in the UK, you need to hold GMC registration with a licence to practise. Given this requirement, we have carefully considered the appropriate criteria we require of members who produce medicolegal reports and/or act as a medicolegal expert.

Today’s doctors are working in a constantly evolving environment, where many of the old expectations regarding the role of doctors, nurses and patients are being replaced by new ones. The roles themselves are changing – doctors are clinicians, leaders, teachers, managers, commissioners and purchasers of services.