Realistic approach to medicine needed, says Scotland’s CMO

  Scotland’s newly appointed chief medical officer has called for a debate among doctors about ‘realistic medicine’. Catherine Calderwood, who took up the post last year, used her first annual report to say she wanted to engage the profession in a dialogue on the role doctors can play in shaping health services. In her report, Dr Calderwood also acknowledges the pressures facing doctors — a statement which has been welcomed by the BMA. However, the BMA in Scotland pointed out that rising workload impacted on doctors’ ability to respond to the needs of a changing healthcare service. The CMO said: ‘Doctors and other healthcare professionals are experts in our NHS. ‘In these challenging times I want to hear from them how we can best practise medicine in NHS Scotland and beyond — how to innovate, ask questions about variation in practice and outcomes, reduce waste and act differently to improve care.’   Expectations She warned that medicine could sometimes ‘over-reach’ itself under pressures, including new medicines and public expectations, particularly where people have multiple long-term conditions. ‘Realistic medicine is about moving away from the “doctor knows best” culture,’ she said. ‘It’s about more fully involving patients in the decisions about their care.’ BMA Scotland council chair Peter Bennie said that it was good to see Dr Calderwood acknowledge the...
Source: BMA News - Category: UK Health Source Type: news