British health boss accuses Muslim doctors of betraying women's trust

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt faced fierce criticism after claiming that Muslim GPs are revealing the intimate secrets of women patients. She said she had been told by Muslim women that GPs passed information to members of their family. "I have had Muslim women give me chapter and verse on very distressing breaches of confidentiality by Muslim GPs," Miss Hewitt told the GP magazine Pulse. "Some women patients feel they cannot trust their own GP, who knows the patient's extended families. If they talk to their GP about a very difficult situation concerning domestic violence or sexual health problems they fear he will share that with other members of her community." She said some women in "close-knit" communities were missing out on care because they were too afraid to go to their GP.

But Dr Prakash Chandra, local medical committee chairman in the London borough of Newham, which has many Muslim residents, said: "It surprises me that Patricia Hewitt would make such a statement. It's highly irresponsible. This is not a problem I have come across."

Surrey GP Dr Khalid Wyne, chairman of the Muslim Health Network, said he did not believe Muslim GPs were more likely to breach confidentiality than non-Muslims. He said: "If these breaches have happened it is very serious and should be taken up by the General Medical Council. It should be reported whether they are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, black or white."

Dr Reesat Drabu, chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain's social and family affairs committee, said there were no figures to back Miss Hewitt's claims. She said: "As a Muslim doctor I find it very offensive."

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "These are very serious accusations. Patricia Hewitt must know that if she has evidence of such breaches of confidentiality she should refer them to the GMC. "In any case, I do question whether it is at all helpful to make such generalised statements. Muslim doctors make a very significant contribution to our NHS and their competence and professional standards should be acknowledged."

But there was support for Miss Hewitt from the Muslim Women's Network on Health, which produced a report in December claiming some women were afraid to consult their GP because of concern over confidentiality. Spokesman Haleh Afshar said: "In our report we said this is a concern shared by all women, but the difficulty for Muslim women is that sometimes they don't have the option of going to a GP outside their community. "Patricia Hewitt has taken this on board. We are asking for the possibility of interpreters to enable these women to move beyond their community."

The GMC said 11 doctors had been referred to a disciplinary committee in the past year over allegations of disclosure of information. It said it could not provide information on their religion.

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More dangerous Royal North Shore hospital errors

Not only did Julia Weston's 12-year-old son wait more than 28 hours to get antibiotics to treat a leg infection, but Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital mistook him for a five-year-old boy suffering from pneumonia. Ms Weston told an inquiry into NSW's public hospitals headed by Peter Garling SC that after eight days in RNSH last year, her son was running a temperature of 40C and had lost nine kilos. She said she persuaded staff to transfer her son to Westmead Children's Hospital, but when he was discharged from RNSH they were wrongly given the papers of the five-year-old boy suffering from pneumonia.

The inquiry also heard evidence from Jean Edge and Gail Aldenhoven, clinical nurse educators working at RNSH, who said the inadequate English-language skills of some graduate nurses put patients' lives at risk. Ms Edge told the inquiry a third-year nurse had admitted to understanding only 70 per cent of the instructions he was given. "Poor communication with these nurses is a major issue," she said. Another graduate nurse with English as a second language could not comprehend the phrase "the patient is choking", forcing other staff to intervene to save the patient's life, Ms Edge told the inquiry.

Sharon Miskell, the director of medical services at Royal North Shore and Ryde hospitals, told the inquiry that about 95 to 100 per cent of the hospital's beds were occupied. Dr Miskell said that without a greater "buffer zone" of empty beds, the hospital risked a higher mortality rate.

The special inquiry was established in January following a coroner's report on the death of 16-year-old Vanessa Anderson, who died two days after she was admitted to the RNSH with a skull fracture. Public hearings have so far been conducted at hospitals across the state. Mr Garling is to report to NSW Governor Marie Bashir before the end of July.

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