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

This story is not all it seems I suspect. Also it is fraud

This.

Are some posters saying that picking her children up from school justifies falsifying medical records.

Surely there is no other answer to that than a resounding NO.

If she'd been a male doctor and sexually abused a patient or colleague in some way, she'd have got a lighter punishment.

She absolutely deserves to be punished but what urks me more than her behaviour is how men seem to get off with lesser punishments for much more serious behaviour and the whole system is deeply inconsistent in what sentence it does out.

Plus she will get a much harder time in the press than one of these male sex offenders.

How can faking medical records for financial greed be ok?

She falsified medical records (which is illegal) and then denied it, and was being paid whilst taking non permitted time off work. No, I do not feel sorry for her and if anything am surprised she wasn’t struck off.

True yes. I had to take my daughter to ED over the weekend as no appointments so yes agreed denying another patient an appointment for your own personal use is not acceptable.

No, I didn’t say that at all. I said it should have been handled at a practice level rather than becoming a regulatory issue. Please at least read posts if you’re going to quote them.

Wait so this woman falsified medical records and you feel sorry for her? Are you having an actual laugh? You can’t just go around committing fraud and fucking about with people’s medical records because you don’t like your working hours - that’s an entirely separate issue that school and work literally don’t make timing sense but has no relevance here.

theres already so much gaslighting from gps that patients have to face, hard to get appointments, accusations of wasted nhs time, how on earth do you justify adding extra appointments and writing up imaginary consultations?!

This is literally why people don’t trust doctors and isn’t fair on doctors who do their jobs diligently.

So, as a GP, you're OK with her lying about this and continuing to lie, because it suited? Righto ...

cannot believe that 39% of voters agree with the OP. Would that 39% like their records tampered with or need an appointment bt not be able to get one because the GP was cheating the system?

But the way this would have been handled at practice level was duty of candour with the patient and ICB. I assume it wasn’t just the practice simple decision to refer it on, there would have been contractual obligations for consideration.

I read it as she was paying for childcare but they closed / finished at 6pm and she kept being overbooked at the end of the day so was having difficulties in picking them up on time. Childcare settings tend to be very strict about pick up times for obvious reasons and she had asked for and received adjustments but these weren’t being honoured so I understand her reasoning. She still shouldn’t have lied about it though. As soon as you start behaving dishonestly in a position of trust, you can’t be helped.

Practice level? So swept under the carpet then.

I’m amazed she thought she’d get away with it, I can see a summary of all my appts on the nhs app so people would have seen these appointments

aren’t GP surgeries paid per patient on an annual basis and also by doing specific things? I’m not sure if they can claim for each appointment? If so then yes it’s financial fraud.

Changing recording a telephone appointment to a face to face one is also not safe. I would love to know where you work so I would know not to go there.

She falsified medical records. Then lied and lied about it. There's no excuse for that. I won't support that just because she's a mother.

it's financial fraud regardless because regardless of how the payment gets to the surgery, she got paid for work she did not do.

I have my child in pre school at the moment cause she’s not school age yet however she does a full day 5 days a week starting at 9 finishing at 3pm and I work 09:30-14:30 because my employer understands I need to be with my child until 9am and at 3pm.

not relevant, sorry.

No she wasn't being overbooked - she had chosen to take an extra locum shifts which she had said she was under no personal or professional pressure to take on

A locum (or a salaried GP) should not be blocking off any slots. If you need to leave early tell the practice and you will be paid for what you work. Only the partners and manager should be able to control appointment capacity. Doctors blocking slots off for ‘admin’ is a long term issue which often veers into fraudulent areas. You get 3 hours clinical time and 1 hour 10 mins admin in your contract as a salaried GP. What example does this teach staff in a practice if partners are blocking off things for personal reasons either? I dislike this old fashioned approach to general practice intensely

So despite your previous post, you do understand that you can’t just decide to work overtime and not bother to book childcare.

Sorry it is relevant. Sorry.

Goodness, as a doctor, I would say this is indefensible. She was writing incorrect information about patients in their notes. That has health implications, legal implications, it could affect patients financially when they apply for insurance etc. It is potentially dangerous and I think what she did was absolutely horrendous. It goes against all principles of integrity and probity.