The BMJ presented a piece early this morning about the guidance from the NHS Litigation Authority. It urges doctors to apologise.
Over the last two years we have known two doctors to apologise because they felt it was the decent thing to do. One is S Boardman and the other is Dr Pakistan. The half crazed Trust in Leamington Spa dismissed Boardman and the General Medical Council used the apology to justify their illegal warning on Dr Pakistan. The warning was given for 5 years due to a few emails sent out of work hours to the Royal College of Surgeons.
Both S Boardman and Dr Pakistan are actually innocent hard working doctors trying to do their job. Let that be a lesson regarding the impact of an apology. I have no problem with an apology if it is an admission of severe guilt and the doctor is willing to face the repercussions but I do have a problem with an apology when innocent doctors feel they are obliged to do it. Most have a preconceived idea that an apology will result in some kind of forgiveness. Most often than not, the Trusts or the GMC do not have enough evidence to prosecute therefore they extract an apology to bolster their case.
One of the most idiotic apologies came from Dr Scot Jnr following his post on Doctors.net.uk. If emergency mass defence mechanisms had not been put in place, Scotty would be out of a job today. His misguided apology had all of us running around. We all had to forgive him of course because surgeons often think only in straight lines and not laterally.
So before apologising - think before you act. It may save you some disastrous consequences in the long run. In a complaint described by Jobbing Doctor, an apology would signify an admission of liability and if that is done in a complaint that has no evidence to sustain it, it would be a complete and utter disaster for the doctor.
Over the last two years we have known two doctors to apologise because they felt it was the decent thing to do. One is S Boardman and the other is Dr Pakistan. The half crazed Trust in Leamington Spa dismissed Boardman and the General Medical Council used the apology to justify their illegal warning on Dr Pakistan. The warning was given for 5 years due to a few emails sent out of work hours to the Royal College of Surgeons.
Both S Boardman and Dr Pakistan are actually innocent hard working doctors trying to do their job. Let that be a lesson regarding the impact of an apology. I have no problem with an apology if it is an admission of severe guilt and the doctor is willing to face the repercussions but I do have a problem with an apology when innocent doctors feel they are obliged to do it. Most have a preconceived idea that an apology will result in some kind of forgiveness. Most often than not, the Trusts or the GMC do not have enough evidence to prosecute therefore they extract an apology to bolster their case.
One of the most idiotic apologies came from Dr Scot Jnr following his post on Doctors.net.uk. If emergency mass defence mechanisms had not been put in place, Scotty would be out of a job today. His misguided apology had all of us running around. We all had to forgive him of course because surgeons often think only in straight lines and not laterally.
So before apologising - think before you act. It may save you some disastrous consequences in the long run. In a complaint described by Jobbing Doctor, an apology would signify an admission of liability and if that is done in a complaint that has no evidence to sustain it, it would be a complete and utter disaster for the doctor.
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