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Report finds newly registered doctors, and those from abroad, need better support to practise safely on the NHS Newly qualified and foreign doctors need to go on a basic induction course before they start working in the UK amid fears they may be not be fully prepared to start treating patients, according to the General Medical Council. Those entering the UK health service for the first time should be given a basic induction, the GMC said. It made the suggestion after a new report, published on Friday, found some new doctors start clinical practice with little or no preparation for working in the UK, while some locums are taking on duties without appropriate training. Last year a government-ordered review into out-of-hours healthcare called for proper inductions for all doctors who had never worked out-of-hours or in the NHS before. It came after a coroner ruled David Gray, 70, was unlawfully killed by German doctor Daniel Ubani in February 2008 when he injected him with 10 times the recommended dose of painkiller diamorphine. An inquest heard Ubani, 67, was providing cover for GPs in and around Newmarket, Suffolk, when called to treat Gray at his home in Manea, Cambridgeshire. The GMC report found doctors going into the health service for the first time – including those from abroad, as well as newly registered doctors, need better support to practise safely. Its recommendations include an induction programme for all doctors new to the UK health service. Plans for the induction are due to go to the GMC council before the end of the year. According to the regulator, every year roughly 12,000 doctors from the UK, Europe and countries around the world start working in the UK for the first time. The report, which uses GMC and other data, said more needs to be done to make sure induction is consistent for all doctors, especially those from outside the UK. An induction programme would make sure they get an early understanding of ethical and professional standards they will be expected to meet, and become familiar with how medicine is practised across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The report found while there were some good local schemes for doctors new to practice, there was evidence of new doctors undertaking clinical practice with little or no preparation for working in the UK, or locum doctors taking on duties without appropriate training. Earlier this month a six-figure sum was handed to the family of a young father who died from blood poisoning on Christmas Day after he was misdiagnosed by a locum GP. Malcolm Drake, 23, from Blurton in Stoke-on-Trent, died in 2007 from sepsis after he developed an abscess following a perforation in his bowel as a result of undiagnosed Crohn’s disease. He was sent home twice from hospital, the second time misdiagnosed with a muscle strain by locum GP Dr Aw – working out of hours and on his first day at the hospital, law firm Irwin Mitchell said. Stoke-on-Trent primary care trust has since admitted the locum should have sought an immediate second opinion. The GMC said it plans to work with doctors’ employers and professional organisations to develop a basic induction programme for all medics. GMC chief executive, Niall Dickson, said: “While there is much to celebrate about medical practice in the UK, the challenges are also clear – we must do more to make sure that all doctors understand the standards expected of them. “Developing an induction programme for all doctors new to our register will give them the support they need to practise safely and to conform to UK standards. “This will provide greater assurance to patients that the doctor treating them is ready to start work on day one. “We hope this report will contribute to a better understanding of the challenges the profession faces as well as challenging us and those we work with to redouble our efforts to improve standards and protect patients.” The GMC said challenges included an ageing population with more complex health needs, and tension between a health service that must deliver care with constrained funding and within European working time rules. It also said common areas of complaints about doctors covered clinical investigations or treatment; respect for patients; and communication with patients. It said revalidation – where licensed doctors have to regularly show the GMC that they are up to date and fit to practise – would be introduced in 2012, helping to embed professional standards. Doctors NHS Health guardian.co.uk