Medical Protection’s comment in response to a recent MPTS ruling

Responding to reports a GP has been suspended by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) for dishonesty for one month, Dr Rob Hendry, Medical Director at Medical Protection said:

“It is very surprising that the issues raised could not have been resolved locally without the doctor’s employer referring the case to the General Medical Council (GMC) and for it then to proceed to a hearing. We share the strong concerns expressed by doctors across the country.

“The GMC’s own data shows that doctors from an ethnic minority are twice as likely to be referred by their employers to the GMC compared to white doctors, and the referral rate for doctors qualifying overseas is three times higher than that for UK doctors. This is completely unacceptable and Medical Protection calls for this inequality to be addressed rapidly.

“Action must be taken quickly, including training on unconscious bias for those making the referrals. Checks by the GMC also need to deter unfair referrals so they can be closed much earlier. In 2021 we welcomed the decision by the GMC to set a target to eliminate the disproportionate referral of ethnic minority and internationally trained doctors within five years. We are closely following this work to ensure this target can be met as quickly as possible.

“Medical Protection has also for some time called on the GMC to reduce the number of investigations into lower level allegations and instead focus on serious concerns where a doctor’s behaviour poses a risk to patients.”

Notes to editors:

As Dr Arora is not a Medical Protection member, we are not able to comment further on the specifics of this case.

ENDS

For further information contact: [email protected] or Suzi Salleh at 07790 807722.

About Medical Protection

Medical Protection is a trading name of The Medical Protection Society Limited (“MPS”). MPS is the world’s leading protection organisation for doctors, dentists and healthcare professionals. We protect and support the professional interests of more than 300,000 members around the world. Membership provides access to expert advice and support and can also provide, depending on the type of membership required, the right to request indemnity for any complaints or claims arising from professional practice.

Our in-house experts assist with the wide range of legal and ethical problems that arise from professional practice. This can include clinical negligence claims, complaints, medical and dental council inquiries, legal and ethical dilemmas, disciplinary procedures, inquests and fatal accident inquiries.

Our philosophy is to support safe practice in medicine and dentistry by helping to avert problems in the first place. We do this by promoting risk management through our workshops, E-learning, clinical risk assessments, publications, conferences, lectures and presentations.

MPS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MPS are discretionary as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.