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February 2022 Issue 139
INDEPENDENT PRACTITIONER TODAY
Prepare for the new tax year
The business journal for doctors in private practice
In this issue
Finding the perfect PA
Our troubleshooter Jane Braithwaite gives advice on recruiting and employing a personal assistant P18
How we can stop the rise of superbugs
Dr John Burke of Bupa on how to prevent antimicrobial resistance increasing P20
£12.50
n Turn to page 38
Don’t get crushed by staff litigation
Solicitor Julia Gray advises on how to deal with employment tribunals P34
Renewing faith in doctors By Robin Stride Private doctors’ representatives are looking forward to ‘a restoration of confidence in the professional integrity of doctors throughout the sector’ in the wake of the Government’s support for recommendations arising from the Paterson inquiry. The Federation of Independent Practitioner Organisations (FIPO) said rogue surgeon Ian Paterson betrayed the basic principles of medicine and had a devastating impact not only on the patients whose lives he ruined but also ‘on the medical profession as a whole’. Its comments were backed by the London Consultants’ Association, which said private specialists would be pleased to only practice with providers who have the correct assurances and governance in place. Welcoming the Government’s long-awaited response to the remaining recommendations of the former Bishop of Norwich’s inquiry into his ‘reprehensible behaviour’, it said it was gratified that the majority of the ‘sensible’ recommendations had been accepted. As repor ted by Independent Practitioner Today in late December, there were 17 recommendations signalling some major changes for some consultants. Nine were accepted, five more in principle, one was not accepted In association with
and another is being kept under review (see pages four and five). In a detailed analysis of the recommendations, FIPO said the integration of practice data should allow for earlier identification of concerns, but this would need to be viewed within an independent professional goverance framework. A peripheral benefit would be to ease the data capture burden for doctors working at multiple sites. It thought the matter of consent for surgery was less likely to be an issue in the private sector where the consultant would be getting the informed consent and performing the surgery, normally with a time gap for the patient to consider what they had been told. Regarding multidisciplinary team meetings, these were considered in many instances to be best practice, stated FIPO. However, the routine adoption of these meetings compliant with national standards throughout the sector would need professional monitoring to ensure that, as was the case with Paterson, this did not degenerate into a tick-box exercise. FIPO added: ‘However, these meetings are very resource- and time-intensive in terms of assembling the necessary skill sets to perform them. ‘There is also the issue that cur-
rently neither the hospital providers nor the private medical insurers (PMIs) reimburse the doctors and other professionals involved for their time. Although some of the PMIs have done so in the past, they now refuse to do this.’ Regarding complaint resolution,
FIPO said some private providers had for some years supported the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service to allow for independent assessment of complaints when in-house procedures had failed to satisfy complainants. ➱ continued on page 4
‘Most doctors back recommendations’
take responsibility for Mr Richard Packard, chairfinancially supporting their man of the Federation of expert input to ensure Independent Practitioner effective multidisciplinary Organisations – which team meetings where indithrough its membership cated. organisations is represent‘It is important that ative of around 15,000 professional integrity is consultants working in private practice – said: Mr Richard Packard maintained and while independent oversight is neces‘I believe that the majorsary, we are keen to ensure that box ity of private consultants are pleased ticking mechanisms are not adopted with the Government’s endorsement at the expense of medical profesof most of the Paterson recommensionalism. dations and think this will restore ‘As the original architect of guidepublic confidence and the general lines for medical advisory commitperception of private healthcare tees, a member of the Medical which provides such a helpful adjunct Practitioners Assurance Framework to the NHS in these challenging advisory group and a provider of times. appraisals, FIPO is keen to start work‘The consultants will need support ing with providers to develop indefrom their providers in order to pendent professional oversight by make sure these recommendations doctors for doctors and their patients are implemented. and this should start immediately.’ ‘In particular, funders will need to