The key principle of the ‘duty of candour’ is that general practices must act in an open and transparent way in relation to care and treatment provided to patients

One of the most difficult situations faced by any clinician is when you are concerned that a colleague’s behaviour, health or professional performance may be placing patients at risk. This factsheet outlines your duty to raise concerns when patients may be at risk of harm.

General practice is under increasing strain, causing greater pressure on the whole practice team. Sam McCaffrey explores the greatest causes of stress amongst practice managers, and offers tips on how to increase resilience and avoid burnout.

It goes without saying that strong leadership is vital to ensuring the stability and success of healthcare systems. But the value of followers in challenging this leadership is just as great, say Mr Andrew Gibbons and Ms Danielle Bryant.

Suzanne Creed, Clinical Risk Education Manager explains how to increase your understanding of conflict and provides some key strategies to deal with it more effectively.

Employment law experts Croner Consulting provide advice on how to manage redundancy within your practice to ensure the rights of employees are respected.

Dr Rachel Birch, medicolegal consultant and editor-in-chief of Practice Matters, shares a recent case where a member sought advice regarding consent for childhood immunisation.

Is the patient’s son entitled to access his mother’s confidential information? Where a patient lacks capacity clinicians should consider what action is in the patient’s best interests.

Are we obliged to facilitate a request for CCTV footage of the practice car park? You need to consider the confidentiality of other patients. Dr Rachel Birch, medicolegal consultant, answers a member’s query.

Here we look at some of the characteristics commonly associated with a professional person; as a doctor, these are perhaps the minimum expectations patients have of you.

An inquest is a fact-finding exercise that is conducted by the coroner and, in some cases, in front of a jury. The purpose of an inquest is to find out who died – when, where, how and in what circumstances. This factsheet gives further information about what happens at an inquest.

Ross Clark, of Hempson’s Healthcare Solicitors, tells us why practices are coming together and how they can make it work.

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

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

Editor-in-chief and medicolegal adviser (MLA) Dr Rachel Birch answers some recent queries from practices

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

Proposed merger of nine regulators should focus on fairness and accountability, not cost-cutting, says Medical Protection Senior Medicolegal Adviser Dr Pallavi Bradshaw

Dealing with a disruptive patient can be one of the most challenging aspects of general practice. Senior Medicolegal Adviser Dr Richard Stacey provides advice on the best way to manage such a situation.

Confidentiality is one of the most common risk factors in general practice. Kirsty Plowman looks at how a Medical Protection interactive risk management training session on confidentiality can help members lower their risk.

Sam McCaffrey takes a look at how primary care is changing and the different clinical roles that can help your practice meet increasing patient demand.