DOCTORS in Guernsey could be subjected to the same scrutiny as their UK counterparts.
Dr Brian Parkin (pictured), spokesman for the Guernsey division of the British Medical Association, said the island would be affected by the UK Government’s plan to introduce a system whereby doctors are relicensed every five years to test their medical competence.
‘If it happens in the UK, then it will happen here too because we are also registered and regulated by the General Medical Council,’ he said. Dr Parkin could not comment very precisely on the plans until further details were released, but he did say their compilation might be a knee-jerk reaction to the Harold Shipman murders.
‘There has been talk of introducing doctor reviews since the Shipman inquiry and various proposals have been made and discussed.’
But he feared the government might muddle two separate issues in its plans if they were constructed as a reaction to the case of Dr Shipman, who was found guilty of killing 15 patients.
‘Dr Shipman was a murderer but he was not a technically incompetent doctor, so it is doubtful whether the sort of competence tests they propose would pick up on someone like him,’ he said.
‘In my opinion, this is not a totally rational response to the inquiry.’
Dr Parkin said he thought the tests were probably a good idea but suggested they might not be too much of a step forward.
‘It is important to monitor practice and keep things up to date so in principle I have no objections, but we already undergo annual appraisals. Until I see how these plans are an advancement, it will be difficult to comment. The devil is in the detail,’ he said.
Particulars of the new system will be drawn up and piloted over the next 18 months, according to UK chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson.
Article posted on 24th July, 2008 - 2.29pm
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