Serious concerns have been raised by the General Medical Council (GMC) about patient safety and the support given to doctors in training at St Mary’s Hospital on the Isle of Wight.
The findings follow a GMC review of medical education and training at sites across Health Education England’s (HEE) Wessex region, published today (Friday) by the regulator.
Trainee doctors at St Mary’s Hospital told the GMC they were sometimes asked to make decisions beyond their level of competence, and the regulator was told that in some cases patients had suffered as a result.
The GMC oversees medical education and training across the UK, and heard that some trainees on the Island felt they had inadequate clinical supervision when working at night.
The suitability of some locum doctors, brought in to cover gaps in staff rotas, to provide safe clinical supervision and patient care was also questioned by trainees.
The GMC was also told that trainees in General Internal Medicine, which involves treating patients who have a wide range of acute and long-term conditions, were being signed off as competent for their curriculum by trainers whose methods for assessing them were questionable.
Concerns identified by the GMC were raised with the Isle of Wight NHS Trust and HEE Wessex immediately following the visit. Both have given the regulator assurances that the issues are being addressed, and monitoring is ongoing to ensure standards are maintained.
Professor Colin Melville, Director of Education and Standards at the GMC, said:
“We set high standards for medical education and make no excuses for doing so. Patients rightly expect and deserve good care from their doctors, and it is important doctors have the support they need to do the job well.
“The serious concerns on the Isle of Wight fall below the high standards we set. It is a site we have been monitoring for some time and we have been given assurances that the issues are being addressed as a priority. We will continue to check on progress to make sure that is the case”.
Mr Alistair Flowerdew, Medical Director at Isle of Wight NHS Trust has said:
“The General Medical Council (GMC) have identified a number of key areas relating to junior doctors that require improvement. These have been actively addressed over the course of the last six months and since my appointment in June, I am personally taking steps to ensure that all the outstanding requirements are completed. These include greater supervision and support of junior doctors by their consultants and restructuring the handover processes to ensure that continuity of care and patient safety are maintained at all times.
“Work is already in progress in collaboration with both junior doctors and senior medical staff. The improvements will be monitored by the Trust Board in order to assure the GMC and the people of the Isle of Wight that high quality of care is provided to our patients and is delivered at all times.”
The Isle of Wight NHS Trust’s response to the GMC’s findings can be found at https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/isle-of-wight-nhs-trust_pdf-76063836.pdf.
