DOCTORS

Good Medical Practice - pandemic influenza (2nd November 2009)
The General Medical Council (GMC) has updated its guidance for doctors working in a pandemic.

Adjustments include:

• an allowance for doctors to work outside their normal field of practice so long as they are able to do so safely, for example an orthopaedic surgeon may be asked to support A&E admissions or administer vaccines.
• no formal duty to report concerns about resources, equipment or insufficient patient services, other than in exceptional circumstances - because managers will already be aware of the pressures involved working in a pandemic.
• additional guidance on making decisions about which patients receive treatment where resources are scarce. Patient care prioritisation will be based on clinical need and on the patients likely capacity to benefit. For example, young people should not be given automatic priority over adults.
• doctors running research programmes are asked to consider whether to interrupt them during a pandemic.

Guidance