Figures released at the end of 2013 have shown complaints against doctors rising over the past five years. The numbers, provided by the General Medical Council (GMC) indicated that there had been 8,109 complaints made against doctors in 2012, a figure that was a 24% rise on 2011 and a substantial 104% increase on the figures provided for 2007.
The GMC currently regulates some 250,000 doctors across the UK, so the figure of 8,000+ complaints is a not insubstantial one. Interestingly, complaints were made by both members of the public and medical colleagues, with the majority being lodged either by the patients themselves or by their relatives or friends. In total, some 5,000 of the total number of complaints came from members of the public, a figure that was an 87% increase on figures that were provided for 2007.
The numbers of complaints being made by colleagues against colleagues also increased significantly on the figures provided for 2007, something which the GMC believes can be explained by medical professionals being more willing to challenge the competency of colleagues – perhaps because of the potential action that patients are now more likely to take where something has gone wrong. The most common reasons for raising an issue were either where there was a perceived conflict of interest, or where a criminal conviction had come to light.
In terms of the complaints being made outside of the profession, problems with clinical care and the standard of communication between doctors and patients were the two main reasons why members of the public made complaints.
The GMC put the increase in figures in this context down to a combination of a rise in patient expectations in terms of the standards they believed they should be receiving from medical professionals in 2012, as compared to 2007, as well as the public demanding more from their doctors in general.
Dean Royles, who is the chief executive of the NHS Employers organisation, said of the GMC figures that they “should help reassure the public that concerns about care are being identified earlier, reported more often, and resolved more swiftly."
However, of all the complaints that were made, only one third apparently met the criteria to launch a full investigation – and with respect to the numbers relating to those complaints that had been made either by patients or other members of the public the number was only one in five.
Whilst the figures do demonstrate that there is a degree of awareness of the issue, there is clearly still plenty of work to do in order to bring the reality in line with public expectations.