Hamilton doctor disciplinary chairman

Press, 16 September 1987, Page 4

Hamilton doctor disciplinary chairman

PA Hamilton A Hamilton doctor, Dean Williams, is the new chairman of the Medical Practitioners’ disciplinary committee. Dr Williams is a member of the Waikato Hospital Board and a former New Zealand Medical Association council chairman. He said the work of the disciplinary committee had become increasingly open in recent years and wanted that trend to continue. But he believed the medical profession must retain the right to discipline itself because it was so “specifically different" from any other profession. “Doctors guard people’s lives, their welfare and their physical health,” he said. “No outside organisation could ever under-

stand the nuances in the relationship between doctor and patient.” Nevertheless, Dr Williams said non-medical representatives could make an important contribution to medical disciplinary bodies. Over-all, he considered that most patients making complaints about doctors were satisfied with the diciplinary committee’s work, but he would like to see the public view of the committee improved. He said good communications would help achieve this and he would like to see a move away from the way cases were reported. If they were presented as an explanatory summary rather than in strict legal jargon, both doctors and society would under : stand the cases better, Dr Williams said.