Doctor complaints soaring

The complaints against doctors is expected to be the highest on record

The number of people complaining to the General Medical Council about their doctors is expected to reach a record high this year.

Last year, the aftermath of the Shipman, Ledwood and Neale cases sent the figures soaring by 49% to 4,470 complaints.

But already in the six months up to June this year the General Medical Council (GMC) has received a massive 2,300 complaints - up 5% on the same period last year.

Some of this can be attributed to the Alder Hey public inquiry into the removal and retention of children's organs at the Liverpool Hospital.

The first half of 2000 was an exceptionally high year and there is a simple reason for that and his name is Dr Shipman.

Isobel Nisbet, of the GMC

Bristol inquiry

Next week's Bristol babies inquiry, and other high profile cases, are expected to send the figures for the second half of this year soaring even higher to an expected 10% increase on last year's figure.

The GMC said high profile media cases were often a trigger for people bringing forward their complaints.

But that it was important to remember that despite the increase in complaints that the cases being highlighted were still a tiny minority of the UK's doctors.

Isobel Nisbet, director of fitness to practice at the GMC, said: "The first half of 2000 was an exceptionally high year and there is a simple reason for that and his name is Dr Shipman.

"Whenever there is a high-profile case it seems to lead about three to four weeks later to large increases in complaints coming into us.

"People hear the name of the GMC on the television or radio and it triggers some wish to communicate with us.

"We are anticipating that there will be a rise in the wake of the report into Bristol and we are making sure we have the staff and resources to deal with that."

After serial killer GP Harold Shipman was convicted in January last year, complaints rose to a record monthly high of 501 in March from 378 the previous month.

The case of disgraced gynaecologist Richard Neale, who was struck off the medical register for botching operations on dozens of women, led to a rise later in 2000.

Complaints rising

But Ms Nisbet said that she expected the number of cases to continue rising with various reforms such as clinical governance and revalidation bringing even more dodgy doctors out of the woodwork.

"Cases which have been in the woodwork for years and years are now rightly coming to attention.

"Realistically, for the first few years we will have long-standing problems coming to light and we are going to have to deal with these.

"It is not realistic to think these cases are going to go away.

"What we would hope to see eventually is a decrease in the really serious cases as problems are nipped in the bud earlier than at present."

The GMC is currently trying to deal with a backlog in cases. At the moment there are some 200 cases yet to come before the disciplinary committee, with around half of these waiting more than a year.