General Medical Council aims to put patients in the driving seat

[holyshedballs]

Following the Montgomery case where the Supreme Court advised the medical profession that it is patients who make decsions about their treatment (provided they have the mental capacity to do so), the GMC has reviewed its guidance on how patients and doctors work together regarding patients health and care.

The GMC have set their stall out. The title of the draft guidance is "Decision making

and consent: Supporting patient choices about health and care". it clearly is about the patient.

The draft states that the guidance is to be helpful to patients. The guidance helps patients by settings out the standards of good practice which the GMC expects doctors to follow.

The GMC say that serious or persistent failure to follow this guidance that poses a risk to patient safety or public trust in doctors will put a doctor's registration at risk.

That is how important this guidance is. However, I tink that it is more imprtant that we help doctors to follow the guidance rather than aim to get the GMC to remove their registration.

The guidance covers but is not limited to, decisions about treatments, procedures, investigations, examinations and referrals, and applies whatever the method of communication, including remote consultations.

[marigold22]

Thank you holyshedballs for bringing this to my/our attention. I've recently moved about 12 miles which makes my nearest consultant hospital in a different city (has been QE in Birmingham, would be Worcester). I haven't changed GP surgery as I'm terrified I won't be able to continue seeing endo at the current hospital where I have been getting 6 months T3 at a time. So this GMC guidance looks like it may help.

[MaisieGray in reply to marigold22]

You may chose a hospital for secondary care irrespective of which GP you are registered with - I've been all over England to see different Endos, including Sheffield, Kent, Coventry ...... Changing GP should not affect your Endo relationship or which one you see. However, what is critical is that changing GP will possibly/probably put you in a different CCG catchment area; to one which may have a different policy on funding T3 from that of your existing CCG. Any prescribing costs arising from secondary out-patient prescribing are charged back to your primary care budget, over which of course, CCGs have considerable sway.

[marigold22 in reply to MaisieGray]

Thanks... I did phone my new CCG before moving and it didn't look good re. funding T3. Although the hospital in Birmingham has been handing out 6 months worth of T3 at a time so I was under the impression they would pay for it.