Chaperones may protect both doctor and patient
PRACTICES must develop formal guidelines on the use of chaperones, medical defence organisations have warned, if GPs are to be protected from claims of misconduct. The warning follows the release of the Medical Board of Western Australia’s annual report, which notes the board received 245 complaints from December 2008 to July 2009. Thirty-three of these alleged unprofessional conduct, 15 alleged lack of courtesy, six alleged rough treatment, three related to a sexual violation, two related to unspecified assaults and one related to sexual impropriety. MIGA risk services manager Liz Fitzgerald said the use of chaperones gave ...