In response to the study published in the BMJ, Niall Dickson, the Chief Executive of the General Medical Council, said:
Being aware and taking account of how patients and colleagues view your practice is important for every doctor but it is only one part of the supporting information that doctors will bring to their appraisals.
Niall Dickson, the Chief Executive of the GMC
‘We commissioned this research to help us understand more about feedback from patients and colleagues and how it can play a part in improving doctors’ practice.(1)
‘We believe feedback can help doctors reflect on their practice and improve their work – that is why we have asked doctors to bring the views of patients and colleagues to their appraisals at least once every five years. Doctors who have collected feedback from patients and colleagues have found it works, with one study in Canada finding that around three-quarters of those who used this feedback saying it had improved their practice.
‘This study found that feedback doctors receive may vary depending on a variety of factors, such as the specialty they work in or where they qualified. It does mean the results have to be treated with care and when we publish the final version of our questionnaires later this year, we will also produce clear guidance on how to use them.(2)
‘Being aware and taking account of how patients and colleagues view your practice is important for every doctor but it is only one part of the supporting information that doctors will bring to their appraisals. It will be considered alongside all the other information about a doctor's practice and is not something which you can 'pass' or 'fail'. It assesses an individual doctor’s strengths and areas for development to help them improve their practice – it is not a way of comparing doctors with one another.’
Notes to editors:
(1) The GMC developed draft colleague and patient questionnaires for use in revalidation, based on the principles in Good Medical Practice. The GMC commissioned Peninsula Medical School to undertake in-depth testing of the questionnaires across a large number of doctors in different clinical settings, to ensure they were reliable and robust.
(2) The GMC also published guidance in April 2011 to help those involved in commissioning, developing and administering colleague and patient questionnaires for the purposes of appraisal and revalidation. You can download the full set of colleague and patient questionnaires guidance (pdf).
For further information please contact the Media Relations Office on 020 7189 5454, out of hours 020 7189 5444/ 07920 461497, email press@gmc-uk.org, website http://www.gmc-uk.org/.
The General Medical Council registers and licenses doctors to practise medicine in the UK.
The law gives us four main functions:
- keeping up-to-date registers of qualified doctors
- fostering good medical practice
- promoting high standards of medical education and training
- dealing firmly and fairly with doctors whose fitness to practise is in doubt
