Confidentiality is central to the trust between healthcare professionals and patients; without it, patients may be reluctant to divulge personal information, and this could impact their care and treatment. It is often referred to as doctor-patient confidentiality.

Mrs A, was admitted for a triple coronary artery bypass graft operation for her NSTEMI. She had a past medical history of thoracic (T9-T10) spinal fusion for fractures secondary to a viral illness more than 20 years ago.

The doctor−patient relationship is based on trust. The GMC’s Good Medical Practice section on professionalism says that good doctors are “honest and trustworthy, and act with integrity and within the law.”

We defend consultant surgeon Dr R after a negligence claim from patient Mr P.

Non-therapeutic circumcision of male children is carried out for religious or ritual reasons and is generally not available on the NHS.1 There is also a significant issue related to the appropriateness of the facilities in which the operation is carried out and a lack of formal training and certification in circumcision.

Baby T was eight weeks old when his mother brought him to his GP’s morning surgery. His mother had become increasingly concerned about his general irritability and frequent crying episodes, which lasted up to two hours. These had become apparent over the past three days, not settling with breast feeding.

A 48-year-old man underwent abdominoplasty and liposuction. At the pre-operative visit, the consultant anaesthetist proposed general anaesthesia along with a spinal anaesthetic for the purpose of post-operative pain relief.

Good medical records – whether electronic or handwritten – are essential for the continuity of care of your patients. Adequate medical records enable you or somebody else to reconstruct the essential parts of each patient contact without reference to memory. They should therefore be comprehensive enough to allow a colleague to carry on where you left off.

The regulations on NHS complaints in Wales are designed to make complaints handling open and accountable, fair and proportionate, and patient-focused. The emphasis is on resolving concerns in a timely fashion, openly and honestly, and a philosophy of “investigate once, investigate well”.

Patients who are kept informed about their condition and are involved in deciding on the appropriate treatment are more likely to comply with the treatment you suggest, and less likely to complain if things go wrong.

The medical consultation is a challenge to both doctor and patient, whether in the community or in hospital. The need for more detailed discussions with patients, along with their increasing autonomy and right to make choices in relation to their clinical care and treatment, has affected the traditional role of the doctor-patient relationship. This has made maintaining appropriate professional boundaries in the doctor-patient consultation more challenging, however, the guidance from national and regulatory bodies is clear that it is always the health professional's responsibility to do so.

Dealing with claims accounts for about 1/5 of the cases we handle. This video examines a claim made against a consultant surgeon because he left out critical information from a patient’s notes.

A patient undergoing a colonoscopy claims her modesty is disregarded during the procedure. What did Medical Protection do to tackle this allegation?

Ophthalmologist Dr P receives a claim alleging poor consent and technique – but is that the real cause?

The case of Dr Bawa-Garba and the resulting collision between the medical community and the criminal justice system, sent shockwaves around the world. Dr Richard Stacey, head of policy and technical at Medical Protection, analyses criminal cases handled by MPS in 2017 to gauge the likelihood of further charges of gross negligence manslaughter.