Abstract
Your partner at the practice sees a 78-year-old male patient on a Friday evening and diagnoses a viral illness. Over the weekend the patient deteriorates, is admitted to hospital, treated for community-acquired bilateral pneumonia and sadly dies. Your partner is phoned by the patient’s son the following Monday and asked why his father was not admitted. The patient’s son is further concerned that his father’s death could have been prevented. Your partner is very upset by the incident, and during your busy afternoon surgery becomes tearful and asks to go home and for you to see his remaining few patients. In the following weeks, you notice that your partner has admitted two patients inappropriately and is regularly running late with surgeries. You wonder if his more defensive practice relates to the complaint. You ask him how he is getting on. He says that the incident has really affected him and he is struggling to manage risk and uncertainty. He feels that he needs some help in order to move forward and regain confidence in his clinical practice. He appears anxious and low in mood.
How do you respond to his request for help and how do you discuss this problem with the practice and your partner?
How can support be offered to him by you as a partner and by the practice?
What resources are available to help your partner and the practice with this episode?