ProNurse

By Lyndsay Moss Health Correspondent

It would never have happened in Dr Finlay’s day. Rising numbers of GPs are having to seek legal advice on how to deal with “difficult” patients.

With public expectations of the NHS soaring and increased awareness of the complaints system, doctors are reporting an increase in confrontations behind surgery doors.

The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS), which handles around 7,000 appeals for help from doctors, has revealed that calls about difficult patients rose 7 per cent last year. The category includes patients who make repeated complaints about the service provided – often based on knowledge gleaned from the internet or TV medical programmes – as well as those who refuse to attend for treatment.

NHS campaign groups said patients were entitled to complain, but needed to treat doctors with respect when raising concerns.

Dr Gail Gilmartin, a senior medico-legal adviser at MDDUS, said that although patients are encouraged to speak up about their concerns, some simply went “over the top”.

"There are a group of patients who are extremely demanding in terms of what they expect the health service to provide for them. They can be very critical about the provision of normal services that do not meet their expectations.

“The difficulty with that kind of patient is that you can’t ignore them. There may be some serious medical issues there that the doctor has got to be aware of,” Gilmartin said.

Doctors calling the MDDUS are given advice about how to deal with the patient to prevent future problems. It may involve simply writing to those whose behaviour is unacceptable to ask them to stop.

Gilmartin believes the traditional deference to doctors is now changing. “My parents, for example, would never have done it. There’s a culture change as well now that people are encouraged to say, ‘I don’t really like that’.”

Margaret Watt, chairwoman of the Scottish Patients Association, said patients should complain if they had a concern but they should not be overly aggressive in the manner in which they made their complaint.

Mutual respect was the key as some doctors were “at the end of their tether”.

© 2010 Scotland on Sunday. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

<img src = “http://content.yellowbrix.com/images/content/cimage.nsp?ctype=full_story&story_id=141010056&id=monsteruk&ip_id=ProQuest+Public&source_id=Scotland+on+Sunday&category=UK+Nursing”/>