The shocking account of the suicide of GP Dr Wendy Potts after her “outing” by a patient because of her bipolar disorder and subsequent suspension from work (GP died after patient’s complaint, 27 August) makes depressing reading for doctors and patients alike. What an appalling tragedy, both for her family and the patients under her care. Suspension is one of those events intended to be non-accusatory, neutral and fair-minded, but the effect on a professional’s state of mind is colossal and always highly destructive, even though the large majority of cases submitted to the General Medical Council result in complete exoneration, not formal charge. Such episodes are not only highly damaging to professional confidence, morale and clinical effectiveness, but also place extra strain on colleagues who have to patch the service gap. It is well known that many accusations of this type, though essentially groundless, prove to be the beginning of the end of an often unblemished career.
Both the government and the GMC must do more to protect doctors, so many of whom – judging by recent figures on early retirement and ever-increasing inquiries for permanent work overseas – have clearly had enough. Most suspensions don’t of course result in such a desperate outcome, but the current system, so weighted against doctors who by and large contribute so much to society, cannot continue. Dr Potts’s sad case is one avoidable tragedy too many.
Professor Jeffrey Tobias
Department of oncology, University College Hospital, London
• It seems that the simple fact Dr Potts revealed online that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder led to her suspension from practice. As former health service psychologists, we both had valued colleagues and trusted superiors who suffered from a variety of chronic illnesses, such as bipolar disorder or recurrent depression (or, for that matter, severe diabetes). They were receiving appropriate treatment and were able to manage their symptoms and do their jobs very well. In fact, suffering from such a condition can give the professional greater insight and sympathy, helping them to do their jobs better. And should any of them have been unable to do their jobs at some point in time, medical leave, not suspension, would be the appropriate response.
Was Dr Potts suspended – as opposed to taking medical leave – simply because she had received a diagnosis? That would be on a par with a doctor being suspended because a patient complained about their religion or sexual orientation. Unless there are other circumstances, these events seems to suggest a stigmatisation of someone because of their medical condition, something that certainly should not be happening in 21st-century Britain.
Dr Peter Hayward and Jenifer Bright
London
• The news that an optometrist who failed to pick up on signs that a child was suffering from a life-threatening illness has been prosecuted through the criminal courts (Report, 27 August) is of deep concern. Aside from the obvious argument that such a move will discourage young people from undertaking the arduous training required to become a doctor and cause the profession to operate in an atmosphere of fear, what worries me most is that we are unravelling centuries of legal principle.
A crime must involve intent. Industrial manslaughter is still an act of commission as it involves allowing unsafe equipment to be used. Reckless driving involves using a vehicle in a way that is likely to cause harm. Investigating medical oversight and negligence is not a matter for the criminal justice system, unless there is intent to harm. We seem to be living in an era in which institutions are being influenced by popular clamour and decisions made in response to emotions rather than on reasoned and balanced principles.
Serena Wylde
London
• Jeremy Hunt’s fixation on a controversial weekend effect (Hunt hindering seven-day NHS, say staff, 24 August) deflects attention away from a far more serious problem: that of addressing avoidable patient deaths caused by error grounded in poor clinical teamwork, such as miscommunication between a ward team and a surgical team.
Studies suggest that such error accounts for three times more avoidable deaths than the supposed weekend effect. To address the poor teamwork effect, we need a fully resourced set of clinical teams working around patients, with capacity to respond to inevitable depletions through sickness; and a well-designed and resourced interprofessional team education programme, starting at undergraduate level and topped up through continuing refresher courses. Hunt’s plan for a seven-day NHS spreads resources too thinly and focuses too much on doctors.
He will need to expand numbers considerably across all frontline healthcare professions and fund ongoing education and training to support a future NHS that can provide optimal patient care and safety. Improving teamwork will result in less relapse and readmission of patients, especially in mental health. This in turn will put less strain on services to release funding for extra staff and teamwork education.
Professor Alan Bleakley
Emeritus professor of medical education, Plymouth Peninsula School of Medicine
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