Sacking someone is never a pleasant thing to have to do and can result in distress on both sides. Thankfully, I haven’t had many occasions to sack someone but I can think of two managers who were sacked – for theft – and one attempted dismissal of a manager for poor performance.

What is the Penalty for Poor Performance?

The Care Quality Commission will issue a report then take steps to suspend practice operations. Although the registered manager carries responsibility for the practice it could be taken over by the local area team of NHS England but what happens then to the doctors and staff working in that practice? Even before it is proven that any of them have done anything wrong could there be serious consequences for them like redundancy or disciplinary action? They could be left with their career in ruins.

In 2004, appraisals were introduced to monitor the performance of GPs and their staff. In the event of a negative appraisal by the CQC, following which reports are published publically it is unclear whether doctors and staff are asked to explain their part in these negative findings or whether further training is provided. It’s possible that some practices found to be inadequate are simply asked to self-improve.

Glaring Difference in Disciplinary Procedures between Doctors and Managers

It is extremely difficult to dismiss a practising doctor who is self-employed and/or a member of a partnership. There a couple of options open in this situation:

• The partnership agreement may offer a dissolution process for the partnership but not a dismissal.
• In this event the GP could still practice but not in the nearby area.
• NHS England could take steps to remove a doctor from the practitioners list.

However, removing a doctor from the list takes an awfully long time as past events have shown. Notorious killer GP Harold Shipman was not removed from the list and struck off the GMC Medical Register until 10 days after his conviction for murder and even then he was only struck off for ‘undermining trust’! Doctors who are found guilty of drug-related offences are often suspended from practice but then reinstated to resume practice under supervision. The striking off of a doctor from the GMC register is thankfully rare but there does seem to be a different rule for GP practice managers.

A GP practice manager could be the subject of a dismissal action even if he or she was not responsible for the failings of a practice and the subsequent findings of a CQC report. Even though the CQC have the power to close down a practice or impose a new staffing regime I worry that the legal aspects of CQC inspection findings have not been fully tested in a court of law.

Who Pays?

With the current shortage of GPs – not likely to correct itself any time soon – and the costs involved in employing locums or salaried doctors, I can’t see how there would be any improvement in a failing practice. Financial losses and staff disruption do not contribute towards improvements in services. So in this modern culture of not apportioning blame are sackings really the solution?

———————–

Topics trending in the forum:
Advice please – Body Odour
Cleaner dispute
Friends and Family Test online