Author Archives: Maureen
Doctors could face GMC action for ignoring poor care
Doctors could face disciplinary action if they “walk by” and ignore poor patient care by other doctors or health professionals, under new General Medical Council guidelines coming into force today.
The new rules mean they may be held to account for failing to raise concerns about sub-standard treatment even if they are not involved. Doctors will be seen as responsible for the “entire welfare” of patients.
Chief executive Niall Dickson said it followed examples such as the scandal at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, where up to 1,200 “excess deaths” occurred due to poor care.
Care home residents ‘denied basic GP medical services’
11 March 2012 Last updated at 05:05
By Adrian Goldberg Presenter, 5 live Investigates
Some doctors are refusing to visit elderly care home residents, a BBC investigation has found.
Instead they are offering a diagnosis over the phone which care home managers say is unsatisfactory and dangerous.
In one case, care home records show a GP refused or reluctantly made a visit to a man suffering from pneumonia on three occasions.
The British Medical Association told the BBC it agreed the quality of care given to care homes could vary.
CARE OF DEMENTIA PATIENTS ‘BEGGARS BELIEF’ SAYS FIONA PHILLIPS
TV presenter Fiona Phillips yesterday condemned the care of Alzheimer’s patients in Britain and said it “beggars belief” that sufferers are left to “get on with it” without proper support.
Saturday March 10,2012
By Jo Wiley
The former GMTV host spoke movingly of her own plight dealing with the disease just weeks after the death of her beloved father Neville.
Speaking at an international conference on Alzheimer’s, she says she feels he was let down at the end of his life.
He was left a shadow of his former self, “totally out of it” on a cocktail of “chemical cosh” dementia drugs.
