Clinical errors are a system issue

摘要

Before I graduated we had a talk about professional responsibility. We were told that we shouldn't need to worry about the GMC. If you worked hard, weren't lazy or drunk on duty, and didn't have sex with your patients or embezzle funds, you had little to fear. You should just make sure that you paid your fees on time and gave the GMC an up-to-date address. Back then, the unspoken message was clear: only truly bad doctors would come to the GMC's attention. This seems much less clear since the High Court ruled that Hadiza Bawa-Garba must be struck off the UK medical register after the death of Jack Adcock. And I know that many doctors are wondering what other job they can do, or which countries will welcome them into less stressed, and better funded, health systems.