Questions raised over old doctors

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/health/8269302.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Older doctors are far more likely to have questions raised about their performance than younger colleagues, figures show.

The National Patient Safety Agency said GPs over 60 were seven times more likely to be referred for problems than the under 40s.

A similar trend was seen for other doctors, including those in hospitals, the review of 5,000 cases showed.

The watchdog said it was likely skills diminished over time.

The NPSA works as a mediator when performance-related problems cannot be resolved by managers and colleagues.

They receive referrals from NHS trusts as well as whistleblowers and the doctors themselves.

Difficulties

These cover a range of issues from the most serious misconduct issues, which may also be being dealt with by the General Medical Council, to problems in areas such as record-keeping.

The audit of all cases dealt with by the watchdog since 2001 showed one in 50 GPs over 60 were referred each year on average, compared to one in 350 GPs under 40.

For the hospital and community sector, which mainly includes mental health doctors, the rate was one in 500 for the under 40s and one in 100 for the over 60s.

An in-depth review of just over 1,400 of the most recent cases showed a fifth were related to critical clinical care issues, while another fifth were linked to diagnostic problems.

Communication difficulties were also cited regularly with a fifth of cases involving problems with colleagues and 12% with patients, carers and relatives.

Professor Alastair Scotland, of the NPSA, said: "The great majority of practitioners work hard to provide excellent care.

"But in those uncommon situations where concerns do arise about individual practice we work closely with health services and with practitioners to ensure not only that those concerns are understood and resolved quickly and as fairly as they can be, but also that this meets our paramount duty of protecting patients and the public."