Doctors understand importance of apologies when they make mistakes - MDU explains

“We understand how important it is for doctors to apologise and have always encouraged our members to do so when something has gone wrong for patients in their care. Our experience suggests that doctors already do apologise and we expect even if the GMC got new powers, they would seldom need to be used. In a recent survey of 677 MDU members, 99% knew about their ethical duty to provide an explanation and apology to patients. Of those involved in an incident more than 90% had apologised to the patient or their family.1
“We will scrutinise this and the GMC’s other proposals and respond on behalf of our members. It is important that any additional sanctions introduced against doctors are proportionate and necessary for the protection of the public. They should not unfairly penalise doctors who have made an honest mistake.”