One day, the doctor was asked to prescribe some antibiotics to an elderly inpatient on a general medical ward who had a skin infection at a cannula site. After quickly scanning the drug chart, she wrote a prescription for flucloxacillin. However, before the first dose was administered, a nurse intervened to say the patient was allergic to penicillin.

The doctor was horrified that she hadn’t checked whether the patient had an allergy to penicillin as she would usually have done. And she felt the near miss was the result of poor decision-making on her part, as much as information that wasn’t logged prominently enough on the drug chart.

Although the patient was unharmed, the doctor was alarmed that her fatigue and drinking had almost led to a dangerous mistake and called the MDU advice line.

What happened next

The medico-legal adviser warned the doctor not to continue self-medicating and seek immediate help from her GP or occupational health for her stress and drinking. They also suggested the doctor talk to her educational supervisor about her mental health struggles and they could signpost her to local support services.

The doctor shared her fear that her employer might report her to the GMC if she sought help from occupational health. The adviser reassured her this was unlikely and even if it happened, the GMC would usually organise health assessments then ask the doctor to agree ‘undertakings’ that would include staying under appropriate care. The GMC does not expect doctors to self-refer for health reasons unless there is a risk to patients, and cannot remove a doctor from the register where a concern solely relates to their health.

As well as consulting her GP about her stress, the doctor confided in her educational supervisor, who directed her to a mental health support service for trainee doctors, where she was able to access CBT and peer support to help address her anxiety, rather than turning to alcohol. She also wrote a reflective piece on the incident, explaining how it had motivated her to change her behaviour.

The educational supervisor was satisfied the doctor had shown insight into her behaviour and was seeking help and so presented no risk to patients. As a result, she was allowed to continue her training and it was not thought necessary to involve the GMC.

Take home messages

Register with a GP in your local area.
Seek advice early if you have physical or mental health concerns – speak to your GP, educational supervisor or use the resources on this page.
Don't self-medicate to alleviate feelings such as exhaustion or anxiety.
Consult a healthcare professional if your judgement or performance might be impaired by illness (or treatment) – don’t rely on your own assessment of risk to patients.

A near miss

Related articles

Membership in your pocket