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Medical Negligence System Is "Secretive, Unaccountable and Unregulated"


The current system for determining medical negligence is "secretive,
unaccountable and unregulated", according to an opinion.

BMJ 4 December 2004 edition
Click here to view full paper:
http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/december/pview1349.pdf
The negligence of medical experts, BMJ Volume 329, p1353

Newswise - The current system for determining medical negligence is
"secretive, unaccountable and unregulated", according to an opinion
piece in this week's BMJ.

Central to the system are expert witnesses, but these are not subject
to regulatory code, audit, appraisal or peer review. Quality of reports
provided by expert witnesses varies greatly, and many present source
material for their opinions which "they would not dare to offer" to
their medical colleagues, says Michael Bishop, a consultant urological
surgeon.

Expert witnesses may also be selected for reasons other than their
expertise in the field, such as how quickly they produce reports, or
their registration with a particular organisation.

Medical negligence claims are mostly considered in closed sessions,
attended by medical experts, defence organisations, the NHS litigation
authority and solicitors with varying levels of expertise. Damage
limitation, rather than a vigorous defence through intellectual
argument, is often the outcome says Mr Bishop. Litigation is expensive,
but cross-examination in open court provides the only opportunity for
experts to be challenged under the existing system.

The public expects expert witnesses to be up to date with the latest
thinking in their speciality and unbiased, says Mr Bishop, but this is
often not the case. A new system is needed, based on a national
register of coded incidents and their outcomes. This would promote
consistency in the treatment of negligence claims and enable doctors to
better learn from errors.

At a time when several high profile expert witnesses have been called
into question, the profession must make itself transparent to restore
the faith of its medical colleagues and ensure the protection of the
public, concludes Mr Bishop.