News: Are surgeons now permitted to advertise in the UK?

26 January 2009

A reader's letter asking whether the three 'A's have been revoked?

Are surgeons now permitted to advertise in the UK? Have the three ‘A’s been revoked? (Advertising; Adultery; Association). I was surprised to see the advert ‘spinal surgeon’ on Google.
Ian Hedley Piper

Our guidance has changed a great deal since the three ‘A’s. We withdrew our guidance advising specialists not to advertise their services to the public back in 1997. Our current advice to doctors on advertising is in paras 60-62 of Good Medical Practice (GMP).

60. If you publish information about your medical services, you must make sure the information is factual and verifiable.

61. You must not make unjustifiable claims about the quality or outcomes of your services in any information you provide to patients. It must not offer guarantees of cures, nor exploit patients' vulnerability or lack of medical knowledge.

62. You must not put pressure on people to use a service, for example by arousing ill-founded fears for their future health.

As for the second ‘A’, whilst adultery is not in itself a professional offence, our current guidance makes clear that doctors must not use their professional position to establish or pursue a sexual or improper relationship with patients or those close to them (GMP para 32).

As for the last ‘A’, association, doctors can now delegate care to any person who has suitable qualifications, experience, knowledge and skills (GMP paras 54–55).

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