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Tough moves on medical misconduct
There are moves to force doctors and nurses accused of medical
misconduct into the public eye.
They would be tried in public and named if found guilty.
The planned law change aims to reassure New Zealanders that medical discipline
is fair, but it has its critics.
Doctors accused of making mistakes can end up in front of the medical
practitioners' disciplinary tribunal, and their cases
are now usually heard in public. But other health professionals are still
disciplined behind closed doors.
A recent example is psychologist Prue Vincent - disciplined in private and
allowed to keep practising - after bungling a child sex abuse case.
The health practitioners' competency bill would mean most health workers,
doctors, nurses, psychologists and midwives would face the same disciplinary
tribunal.
They would be tried in public and if found guilty, their names would be
published.
The medical association generally supports the bill, but says naming the guilty
runs against an international call for a no-blame environment.
"There needs to be an environment where people feel they can speak up,
where they can talk about their mistakes and learn from them, and they do not
fear punitive measures as a result," says acting health minister Ruth
Dyson.
The nurses association says the public is calling for change because they have
lost their old trust in the health professions.
"Nurses and other health professionals are accountable to the public, and
if the public is calling for a greater openness and transparency in the
disciplinary procedures, then we welcome that," says Geoff Annals, Chief
Executive of the Nurses' Association.