Doctors should not pursue sexual relationships with their former patients in most cases, the profession's watchdog warned today.
New good practice guidance issued by the General Medical Council (GMC) states that it is usually inappropriate for doctors to have sex with an ex-patient because of the risk this may involve of an abuse of their former professional relationship.
"In order to maintain professional boundaries and the trust of patients and the public, you must not establish or pursue a sexual or improper emotional relationship with a patient," new supplementary guidance specifically on doctor-patient relationships stipulates.
But the guidance, revised in the wake of scandals such as the Harold Shipman murders, does not impose a ban on doctors dating their former patients. Instead the GMC, which regulates all the UK's doctors, advises doctors to weigh up several factors before deciding whether or not to have sex with an ex-patient.
These are: when the professional relationship ended and how long it lasted; the nature of that relationship; whether the patient was particularly vulnerable at the time (for example suffering from a mental illness) and whether they still are; and whether they are likely to care for relatives of the ex-patient in the future.
The guidance states: "If circumstances arise in which social contact with a former patient leads to the possibility of a sexual relationship beginning, you must use your professional judgment and give careful consideration to the nature and circumstances of the relationship."
Doctors are also warned not to use their professional relationship with a patient as a means of pursuing a sexual relationship with someone close to them. The advice states: "For example, you must not use home visits to pursue a relationship with a member of a patient's family."
If a doctor is unsure whether pursuing a relationship with an ex-patient or someone close to them amounts to - or could be seen as - an abuse of their profession, the GMC advises them to discuss the situation with a colleague or a medical body such as itself.
The guidance also warns doctors they must never make sexual advances towards a patient nor display "sexualised behaviour", including making sexual remarks.
Doctors who fail to comply with the good medical practice guidelines face disciplinary action by the GMC, which could include being struck off.
The supplementary guidance on doctor-patient relationships, entitled Maintaining Boundaries, also states that doctors must report any concerns they have about colleagues if they believe patients are being put at risk.
The core guidance also covers good clinical care, maintaining good medical practice, teaching and training, appraising and assessing and probity, as well as relationships with colleagues.
The guidance is being launched together with a poster campaign in 40,000 GPs' surgeries and hospitals across the UK. The posters read: "Everyone needs good doctors" and lists the six main duties of a doctor, including making the care of their patients their first concern, treating patients as individuals and respecting their dignity, and being open and honest.
The GMC president, Sir Graeme Catto, said: "Patients trust doctors with their lives and wellbeing, and they need to have confidence that doctors are both clinically competent and abide by high ethical standards. The new good medical practice shows how doctors must achieve this."
