Learning materials

A tool to help identify the steps to take when deciding whether to share information about a child or young person at risk of abuse or neglect.

Read our case study about a doctor’s responsibility to the children of a patient who has changed their diet.

Read the second part of the case study about a doctor’s responsibility to the children of a patient who has changed their diet.

Explore our case study about a doctors responsibility to a child when the patient's cultural practices may have impacted or caused her injury.

Choose what the doctor should do in the best interest of her five year old patient whose parents disagree about having his ears pinned back.

Choose what the doctor should do when faced with a mother battling drug addiction who is having trouble looking after her five year old son.

Dr Simpson is responsible for the care and treatment being provided to a young person who is facing a terminal illness.

Personal information of patients shouldn't be disclosed unless necessary. This tool can help you decide if things need to be disclosed.

Explore a case study on challenges that could be faced when sharing occupational health reports

Explore our case study about the decision a doctor has to make when asked to disclose the medical records of a deceased patient to her family.

Read our case study about a doctor's decision on disclosing information to a parent.

Five things to know about our Confidentiality guidance and the GDPR

Explore a case study on what to do if a patient doesn’t want details shared with others involved in their care

Decide what Dr Peters should do, in our interactive case study, when the police ask for the names of the people that have attended his clinic.

A case study on dealing with issues relating to confidentiality and potential abuse of an older adult.

Choose what Dr Peters should do, in our interactive case study, when a patient talks about having a baby with his partner who unknown to him has HIV.

Explore our case study about what a doctor did when her phone was stolen by a patient.

Explore our case study about a doctors duty of confidentiality when she suspects that a patient may not comply with the law.

Read the first part of our four-part case study about a patient who refuses to allow her daughter to be tested for HIV.

Read the second part of our four-part case study about a patient who refuses to allow her daughter to be tested for HIV

Read the third part of our four-part case study about a patient who refuses to allow her daughter to be tested for HIV

Read the fourth part of our four-part case study about a patient who refuses to allow her daughter to be tested for HIV

Explore our case study about a doctor's dilemma when he is unsure if patient's were made aware that they were consenting to their records being released to a third a party

Explore our case study about what information the doctor can disclose, about patients she no longer has contact with, to the HMRC for audit.

Read our case study about what records a doctor can disclose for a local clinical audit

Find out in a our case study what a doctor has to think about when he needs data from patients for his research.

Decide what the doctor should do in our interactive case study when a patient is admitted with a stab wound.

Decide what Dr Gallagher should do, in our interactive case study, when a patient comes in with a fractured arm and Dr Gallagher suspects that there has been domestic abuse.

Choose what the doctor should do when a patient shares concerns about another patient.

Read our case study about a doctors’ duty of confidentiality when the patient is another doctor.

Read our case study about an anxious patient concerned about information being shared with non-clinical members of the team.

Read our case study about whether a doctor should disclose evidence of abuse in an older adult without the patient’s consent.

Determine what the doctor should do when a patient confides in you that her partner is violent towards her.

Read this case study about competing interest and incentives for referrals.

Read our case study about conflicts of interest and competing participation in the advisory board of a pharmaceutical company.

Read this case study about the conflict between the commercial needs of the business and the therapeutic needs of patients.

Read this case study about judgements in making a referral where it may be seen to be influenced by a commercial interest.

Read this case study about a physiotherapist's conflict of interest in providing private care to a patient previously treated through the NHS.

A case study about a doctor asked to encourage patients to use a pharmacy her employer has a financial interest in.

Case study of a mother who has been prescribed sodium valproate for years discussing this with a GP, Pharmacist and Nurse.

A tool to help identify the steps to take if you’re unsure about a patient’s capacity to make decisions.

This video covers what mental capacity is, how can it be assessed, and how our guidance applies.

Read our blog about the Montgomery judgement by Mary Agnew, Assistant Director of Standards and Guidance

Case study on dealing with issues relating to capacity to consent to treatment and care in an older person.

Sally has Down’s syndrome and her doctor has concerns about her capacity to consent.

A doctor treating a patient with dementia who has made an advance decision to refuse treatment.

Decide what the doctor should do when a patient with limited capacity to make decisions about his care, needs treatment.

A case study about caring for a patient who has made an advance decision to refuse treatment.

Read our case study about a patient’s consultation, with a patient advisor and a doctor, for breast enlargement surgery

Read the frequently asked questions about our cosmetic interventions guidance.

View our case study about a patient who wants further cosmetic surgery against the advice of her GP and the cosmetic surgeon.

Read our case study about carrying out a cosmetic procedure on a patient with an underlying psychological condition.

Read our case study about laser eye surgery. It contains information on time limited deals, informed consent and giving time to reflect.

Read about how the duty of candour applies when doctor makes a mistake in diagnosing the severity of an illness

Read our case study about the responsibilities of a doctor is when a patient in his care is misdiagnosed by a colleague.

A video where doctors, patients and carers talk about the effects and decisions around clinically assisted nutrition and hydration.

Five things to know about the new CANH guidance from the BMA and RCP

Watch our video where patients, carers and doctors discuss their experiences and practices about communication in end of life care.

Case study on dealing with issues relating to end of life care and clinically assisted nutrition and hydration in an older person.

Good medical practice in action is a set of interactive scenarios in which you can follow a patient on his or her journey and decide what the doctor should do.

A film with some practical tips on putting our guidance into practice and respecting the rights of trans patients.

A film featuring doctor-in-training, Cat Harley's, five top tips for helping older adults feel heard, respected and included in decisions about their care.

A video about what dignity and respect means to patients.

A video about recognising the carer's limitations

A video on a patient perspectives on what it is like to go to the doctors or hospital when you have a learning disability.

A video about how carers can be a vital source of information for doctors and a useful advocate for some patients

A case study examining whether a patient with learning disabilities has the capacity to manage their own care and make important decisions.

Part two of a case-study examining whether a patient with learning disabilities has the capacity to manage their own care and make important decisions

A video explaining why it's important to make 'reasonable adjustments' to accommodate people's individual needs.

A video about people with a learning disability, featuring Baroness Sheila Hollins, Professor of psychiatry of learning disability.

A video covering the usage of 'talking mats' to aid in communicating with people with learning disabilities.

This video details the experiences of a doctor who has worked with carers, and been a carer herself.

A video examining 'challenging' behaviour.

Choose what the doctor should do when a patient with a severe learning disability needs to be physically examined.

A case study about a 73 year old retired man, going abroad for three months. He visits his GP to ask for extra prescription of Clopidogrel to make sure he has enough medication whilst he's abroad.

Dr Hafeez is an independent doctor working for the online provider. He doesn’t have access to Aoife’s medical records and asks for consent to contact her local GP. Aoife says she can’t remember the details for her GP and also has concerns about sharing such personal information with a commercial company.

Dr Douglas telephones his patient, Mei, at the pre-arranged time. They have not spoken before and he realises she is finding it difficult to hear what he is saying. As a result, Mei is not giving him the information he needs in response to questions about her health.

High level principles for good practice in remote consultations and prescribing for all healthcare professionals

The government changed the law to allow Cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs) to be prescribed from 1 November 2018.

How to weigh up the factors to decide if a remote consultation is appropriate.

Dr Quinn is a part-time GP and has concerns about the aggressive behaviour of a colleague and effect this is having on patients.

Dr Hussain is a GP trainee and has concerns about the behaviour of a colleague self-prescribing.

Dr Ahmed is a senior consultant and has concerns about poor standards of care that go unaddressed.

Choose what the doctor should do when a colleague's underperformance sparks patient safety concerns.

Dr Li is a senior consultant who manages a small team, she faces issues with a member of the team who is persistently late for his shifts.

Dr Doyle is a specialty trainee and becomes aware of an issue where patients are not given adequate information.

Dr Baker is concerned there is no provision for formal training of trainee doctors in the use of 2D ultrasound for CVC insertion.

Dr Bevan is an anaesthetist in an operating theatre and has concerns about a near miss incident with faulty equipment.

Dr McDonald is a specialty trainee and has concerns about the failure of a colleague to follow hand washing procedures.

Dr Wilson is a specialty trainee and has concerns about a culture of relying on verbal instructions within a hospital.

Dr Gibbs works as a GP partner and has concerns about shared care protocol on a patient discharged from hospital to his care.

Dr Sinclair is an associate specialist and has concerns about the repeated failure to address patient safety concerns.

This page has the contact details for regulators and organisation offering advice and help with raising a concern.

Find out about some of the legal protections that you have when raising concerns.

Mrs Donnell is a consultant surgeon and has concerns about low staffing levels, and has difficulty getting her concerns recognised.

Dr Khan is an associate specialist and has concerns about an incorrectly carried out cannula procedure.

Dr Wang is concerned about future risks to patients being given out of date drugs.