Cosmetic injections and vaccinations: ask the expert
Dr Rachel Birch, Medical Protection medicolegal adviser and Practice Matters editor-in-chief, answers some recent queries on cosmetic injections and vaccination errors.
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From the advice line: documenting aggressive behaviour
Dr Rachel Birch, medicolegal adviser at Medical Protection, shares a recent case on documenting a patient’s aggressive behaviour in his medical record.
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Managing staff sickness
Dealing with staff absence can be a complex and time-consuming task for busy practices. Here employment law specialists Croner Consulting offer advice and guidance.
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Antibiotics: how to manage expectations
Test results: learning from negligence claims
Diane Baylis, clinical risk and education manager at Medical Protection, looks at the common causes of test result errors and offers advice on how to avoid them
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A guide to effective complaints resolution - England
All healthcare providers within the NHS have legal, contractual and professional obligations to provide an accessible and suitably responsive complaints procedure for service users.
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Can I disclose information to the police?
Being approached by the police can pose a dilemma: as a clinician, you have your own professional obligations. Dr Marika Davies, senior medicolegal adviser at Medical Protection, provides some clarity
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Case study - Anatomy of a complaint
Back pain, paraplegia and a series of complaints – how Medical Protection helped at every step.
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Anatomy of a claim
Back pain, paraplegia and a series of complaints – how Medical Protection helped at every step.
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Multiple Jeopardy
A patient dies after amoxicillin reaction – we support GP through criminal investigation, inquest and GMC hearing.
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An elusive foreign body
Child H, a three-year-old boy, was brought into the Emergency Department (ED) of a private hospital by his mother, having inhaled or swallowed a little building brick. They brought a similar piece with them. Child H was seen by a doctor, Dr W, who documented that he appeared well, with no signs of respiratory distress and a normal auscultation. Dr W arranged for him to have a chest x-ray, which both Dr W and a radiologist considered normal.
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Straight talking: Getting to grips with new care models
Ross Clark, of Hempson’s Healthcare Solicitors, tells us why practices are coming together and how they can make it work.
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Contracts of employment
Expert advisers from Croner, the employment law and HR specialists, answer your questions on contracts of employment and issues you may encounter when working in new care models
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Medications – A prescription for risk
Medicines are the most common therapeutic intervention in the NHS, but they can also be a significant cause of unintended harm. We hear from NHS Improvement’s National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) on these risks, and offer some tips on how to stay safe
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QA with an MLA
Editor-in-chief and medicolegal adviser (MLA) Dr Rachel Birch answers some recent queries from practices
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Supporting a return to work after illness
Diane Baylis, clinical risk and education manager at Medical Protection, discusses how to manage the return-to-work process and the importance of helping staff remain in work
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Robust regulation – not penny pinching
Proposed merger of nine regulators should focus on fairness and accountability, not cost-cutting, says Medical Protection Senior Medicolegal Adviser Dr Pallavi Bradshaw
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A limping child
Three-year-old Matthew was brought to the local A&E department by his mum, Mrs U. She told Dr M, the attending doctor, that Matthew had fallen from a chair three days ago and, although he seemed unharmed at the time, he was now refusing to walk.
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Balancing risks
Miss G was a 36-year-old medical receptionist who worked in a teaching hospital. She was under the care of a haematologist for chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, diagnosed when she was 13. She had a BMI of 42 and no other relevant past medical history.
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Diagnosing pneumonia
Mr B was a 31 year old man with three children. His mother was staying with him over the weekend because he was in bed coughing and shivering.
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The importance of living wills
Patient B, a 70-year-old female, with a history of dementia, stroke and pneumonia, was admitted to the emergency room of a private hospital in a coma. She had advanced lung cancer and was well-known to the physician, Dr Y, who was called to see her.
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Dialysis or a right to die?
Patient A, a 57-year-old male, was admitted to the ICU of a private hospital with kidney and liver failure, and in a coma. There was no living will and family members gave a history of long-standing alcohol abuse.
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