GMC Patient Feedback Consultation 2019
April saw the launch of the General Medical Council’s public consultation on changes to patient feedback requirements for re-validation. Healthwatch Greenwich were asked to take part.
Summary
All licensed doctors must undergo re-validation to maintain their licence to practice and show they are up to date and fit to practice medicine in the UK. Collecting feedback every five years is a key part of this process.
In July 2019, we held a discussion event on the consultation proposals. 14 local residents, and representatives from patient and BAME groups came along to share their views.
Under the new proposals, doctors will have to collect patient feedback every year instead of every five years.
The GMC also proposes doctors should reflect on unsolicited feedback, and that they no longer need to use a structured questionnaire
What you told us
- Doctors should be reviewing feedback every year, not every five years.
- Informal feedback may skew away migrant populations who might be fearful of sharing negative feedback, worried that it may effect the quality of future treatment.
- Greater flexibility in doctors collecting feedback from patients could make it less reliable and less representative.
- An independent body, like Healthwatch, should be responsible for collecting patient feedback to reduce possible bias.
- It's important to have a standardised way of collecting patient feedback, in addition to informal and unsolicited feedback.
- Doctors should collect a minimum percentage of feedback based on the number of patients seen.
- Doctors should pay attention to demographic trends in feedback received, ie analysis by protected characteristics to understand the experience of different groups.
Downloads
If you need this report in a different format, please email info@healthwatchgreenwich.co.uk
GMC Patient Feedback Consultation 2019
