To feel very sorry for this doctor

[runningpram]

I feel the way this lady has been treated is appalling.
Obviously this wasn’t the right thing to do but she wasn’t leaving early and there was no patient detriment. Why were her managers not supporting her better?
Why on earth could not this have been sorted out within the practise without a formal disciplinary process? As a working mum I really feel for her. Could someone medical shed light on why this would have been blown up into such an issue?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15422147/amp/GP-faked-medical-appointments-work-not-late-afternoon-school-run-suspended-practising-5-months.html

And?

Its her responsibility to sort out her CC
This was a Locum shift, she chose to do it.

How on earth anyone can justify this is beyond belief!

I don't see how it's a stupid mistake though? I work in childcare so while my child was in primary school I could not commit to working later than 4.30 as I had to be there to pick her up by 6pm at the latest. I often stayed on a bit to cover ratios etc as I didn't have to get her til 6 at the latest but I could not have been a scheduled member or staff there til close at 6, or much later if a parent didn't turn up. I was the only one that didn't do a mix of shifts but my employer had the choice or either that or I went elsewhere, me taking a shift that went over the time I needed to leave wasn't an option. It's not an option for many parents and you certainly dont/can't choose to take on extra time then make yourself unavailable to actually do your job

The bottom line is this quote she chose to take extra locum work that day .so in other words she did a bit of private work .then fiddled the nhs books ..why should her managers support a liar .she reported herself thinking she would get off with it .sorry she deserved the suspension

An inappropriate comparison as that GP was not fortunate enough to be white. Which makes a big difference to the GMC.

I’m not sure if other industries also see working beyond paid hours as an expected norm?

It’s a norm in many industries. In roles that pay as well as GP, it’s a completely acceptable expectation attached to your employment (and fair enough, tbh).

Do you not realise how serious an offence falsifying medical records is? It's a criminal offence for a start, she could have got prison time for it. It could also have ramifications for patients further down the line as their records will now show an ailment/injury that they never had.

I thought she had two telephone consultations with the two patients involved earlier that day.

Presumably she just input the same information into the face to face records?

I have some sympathy for the pressure she felt in having parental responsibility for picking school children up at a specified time and having work commitments that were not controlled by her.(ie: booking extra pts at last minute)
I am concerned that she demonstrated an inability to solve her difficulty without resorting to dishonesty (never a good trait in a medical professional in a position of trust)
She could have explained she was unable to take extra patient appts ad hock and without prior arrangement due to child care responsibilities.
If she was contracted to work until 6pm and had to pick children up at 6 pm
She should have arranged alternative child care to pick up the children.
Negotiation and communication would have been better than deceit and lies.
The complex nature and danger to pts of falsifying medical records is something i don't have sympathy for at all.(this is the most serious charge)
If she was paid for the hours she didnt work that she pretended to work thats fraud and also serious misconduct.
It seems it was an isolated incident and she admitted the misconduct and was suspended from practice for 5 months.
She showed remorse and apologised ,she clearly mortified and embarrassed by what she did.
All things considered i think the GMC disciplinary handled this well.
Suspend for 5 months,recorded and i presume supervision on return will prevent a recurrence of this poor behaviour.
I appreciate some may disagree with me,

I doubt very much that this doctor's ethnicity was a relevant factor.

Thank you. It’s more of a generic “you” as in the general public. Sorry, wasn’t meant to be a personal insult to you.

Do you believe that these shifts should be inaccessible to those with caring responsibilities who don’t have further support? Is that fair?

Lots of sectors have extra shifts aren't available to those of us that have caring responsibilities though? Weekend shifts, bank holiday shifts, overtime, all with overtime pay attached in retail, manufacturing etc

Yes but in this case, the inaccessibility arises from the fact that the shift might not finish at a predictable time. There are measures the practice could put in place to mitigate that. It’s not the same as not being able to pick up a weekend shift - the practice couldn’t do anything about that.

Come on now!

Common sense would dictate that if you don't have adequate CC , you don't book the shift, fake book patients, get paid for work you haven't done and falsify medical records.

Has everyone started on the sherry?

but, and its a huge but she did not SEE the patient and she said that she had.

Falsifying records has to be a red line, even if your reasons were benign.

Secondly it’s hugely unfair to her working parent colleagues who will have had to decline these shifts or work a lower FTE for lower pay as they’ll have honestly declared they can’t stay until 6.

It’s a unionised profession, if she wanted a change to her hours or conditions there were other routes to seek that.

As someone who has recently had their medical record falsified I absolutely cannot condone dragging patients into whatever it was she wanted or needed to acheive.
When every medical/admin person you speak to asks about that appointment on xth May when you were in the surgery and everything was explained and a course of action was agreed THAT NEVER HAPPENED it can be difficult to get what you need. It also undermines your standing as an honest and reasonable person with healthcare providers beyond the GP surgery, and opportunities to get the help you need are lost.

I think a suspension is completely appropriate.

This
Most parents who have to deal with school pick ups and after school clubs will appreciate the challenges associated with timings.
However, creating fraudulent appointments is not the answer.

I am conflicted as on one hand do I want to put my life in this woman’s hands - no

should systems and work life balance be better in the nhs so this CANT / doesn’t happen - yes

But did she actually ask anyone to put those mitigation in place? Her own defence doesn't indicate that she ever said I can only cover til 5 so don't book me appointments from 4.30 or any similar request

Does it matter if it was facetime or face to face?

She doubled up the appts. Presumably she used the same information on both?

I'm trying to put myself into the patient's shoes and I can't see the massive issue tbh.

Yep. She wasted appointments on a shift she was doing for extra money, therefore also being paid for work she hadn’t done. She falsified records. Let’s imagine you have an ongoing medical problem, you have struggled to get anyone to take it seriously, and your records show you’ve been to the GP a handful of times already (when you haven’t, this dodgy woman has just pretended). Do you think your experience advocating for yourself is going to be made easier, or harder? ‘But I never saw the GP that day’ you say. Now you’re a liar, and a trouble maker.

She should be struck off.

I can’t believe that the practice nor her colleagues not only refused to support her but actually conspired between themselves to get her into trouble. It’s utterly disgusting.

No. She said she saw the patient face to face and examined them. She may be be liar but surely she’s not that stupid to put the exact same information in to two consultation slots. Plus it stated in the judgement that there was no reason for either of the 2 patients to have a face to face after having the morning telephone consult.

What if two days later that patient took their own life. The inquest would immediately ask her did you see them face to face, how did they present, were they unkempt etc etc to establish frame of mind. Would she come clean to the coroner?