British Medical Association conference to be told praying for patients should not be grounds for NHS disciplinary action
Doctors’ attempts to discuss spiritual affairs with patients or to offer prayers for them should not trigger NHS disciplinary action, the British Medical Association will be told this week.
The issue has been raised in a series of critical motions to be debated at the BMA’s conference in Liverpool during a session on medical ethics.
Concerns about what is professionally appropriate have been highlighted by the case of a nurse, Caroline Petrie from Weston-super-Mare, who was suspended after a patient complained she had offered to pray for her.
Her primary care trust later agreed she could continue to pray for patients as long as she asked them first if they had any spiritual needs.
Most of the BMA motions effectively support that position but insist spiritual discussions should not be grounds for disciplinary intervention by NHS managers.
The main motion, put forward by the BMA’s agenda committee, states that it “is concerned that … any discussion of spiritual matters with patients or colleagues could lead to disciplinary action”.
It adds: “Offering to pray for a patient should not be grounds for suspension.” Spiritual matters should be raised, it suggests, “with respect for the views and sensitivities of individuals”.
The area is currently subject to two distinct sets of guidelines, one set out by the General Medical Council (GMC) and the other by the Department of Health.
In Religion or Belief: A Practical Guide for the NHS, the department states: “Members of some religions … are expected to preach and to try to convert other people. In a workplace environment this can cause many problems, as non-religious people and those from other religions or beliefs could feel harassed and intimidated by this behaviour.
“To avoid misunderstandings and complaints, it should be made clear to everyone from the first day of training and/or employment, and regularly restated, that such behaviour, notwithstanding religious beliefs, could be construed as harassment under the disciplinary and grievance procedures.”
The GMC guidance is the one preferred in most of the motions before the BMA conference. It urges the department “to exercise some joined-up thinking so that while always respecting the views and sensitivities of others, there should be freedom of speech to have appropriate consensual discussions of spiritual matters within the NHS”.
Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the BMA’s Council, said yesterday he was unaware of the issue intruding on the working lives of most doctors.
It was, he suggested, difficult to expand on the subject based on a few isolated cases. What was most important, he said, was good communication between patients and doctors.
Dr Vivienne Nathanson, director of professional activities at the BMA, said it was “hugely important that it’s done right and sensitively… [Doctors] want to know what they are allowed to do.”
A Department of Health spokesman yesterday said its document was a guide to encourage awareness for staff and patients.
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