A new report by the Medical Council has revealed that most people who are dissatisfied with doctors do not complain because they do not know how to.
According to the Medical Council, both doctors and members of the public want a clearer and fairer complaints system.
The report surveyed doctors, hospitals, and members of the public, and found that 25% of people said that they had a reason for being dissatisfied with a doctor over the past five years, mainly because of consumer issues such as cost or poor communication.
But only 16% of those who were dissatisfied had made a complaint, mainly because they did not know how to complain or who to go to.
According to the Medical Council, many of the problems identified are rooted in the legal constraints on its complaints procedure, under which all types of complaint, regardless of seriousness, are examined under the charge of professional misconduct.
The council says a more graded system is needed.
Both doctors and the public want more public involvement in the regulatory practice.
82% of doctors wanted to continue to hold fitness-to-practice inquiries in private; 31% of members of the public definitely thought inquiries should be public, and 38% thought they should be held in public if the complainant wanted.
