Andrea Williams reports
A Christian doctor of 28 years standing has been reported to the
General Medical Council (GMC), and may be disciplined for sharing his
faith with a patient.
Dr Richard Scott, who works at
Bethesda Medical Centre in Margate, Kent - a practice well-known for
having Christian partners - has been threatened with an Official
Warning by the GMC and is currently under investigation.
In 2010, Dr Scott saw a patient on the practice list at the request
of the patient's mother. At the end of the consultation, the patient
and doctor discussed religion, each being of different faiths. The
patient has continued to seek treatment from the practice, but his
mother filed an official complaint, claiming that the GP had not
offered medical advice during a consultation, but instead, talked
about Jesus!
The GMC has written to Dr Scott offering a
'compromise' decision to the disciplinary complaint of placing an
Official Warning on his file. However, the GP is calling on his
professional body to strike-out the complaint on the basis that the
complaint was from a mother who was not medically qualified to comment
on what treatment, if any, a medical practitioner should prescribe
and, the GMC's own guidelines state that it is acceptable to present
faith to a patient as long as it is done gently and sensitively.
Dr Scott, who has an unblemished record as a medic, says it is
totally unacceptable for his professional reputation and official file
to contain a rebuke for acting both professionally, and within the
guidelines. He claims the complaint has been made knowing that
professional bodies are nervous about claims of a religious nature,
and therefore it is a way of getting back at the GP.
Dr
Scott said: "I only discussed my faith at the end of a lengthy medical
consultation after exploring the various interventions that the
patient had previously tried, and after promising to follow up the
patient's request appointment with other medical professionals.
"I only discussed mutual faith after obtaining the patient's
permission. In our conversation, I said that personally, I had found
having faith in Jesus helped me and could help the patient. At no time
did the patient indicate that they were offended, or that they wanted
to stop the discussion. If that had been the case, I would have
immediately ended the conversation.
"This complaint was
brought to the GMC not by the patient, who has continued to be a
patient at this practice, but by the patient's mother."
The medical practice at which Dr Scott works is well known in the
community for having Christian partners and is named after a Biblical
name. Dr Scott says he has talked about his faith with many patients
over the years, and many of them have been encouraged. Dr Scott, who
for seven years has been a worshipper at St Paul's Church,
Cliftonville (CofE), is so determined to clear his professional name
that he has instructed the Christian Legal Centre to advise him in his
case. They, in turn, are using the leading human rights lawyer, Paul
Diamond as lead counsel.
Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO
of the Christian Legal Centre, said: "It is a shame that Dr Scott has
been reported to the GMC because of his Christian views. Dr Scott is
an experienced GP who has helped thousands of patients over the years.
"The complaint, on religious grounds, appears to be a smokescreen to express frustration and to disagree publicly with the professional treatment offered. However, the GMC must not bow to political or emotional pressure in this case and should back the GP 100 per-cent, as he acted within their own guidelines, and his unblemished record should not be tarnished - even by a letter on his file."
"Many patients are helped when a Doctor, in the natural course of a discussion, talks about their spiritual needs. This is all Dr Scott was doing and he should not be punished for this or prevented from doing so in the future."
The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.
it is so very important that faith is understood by the medical profession, to be of the great value that it is.