Daily Mail's GP-bashing under investigation

healthcarerepublic.com, 06 August 2009, 11:20am

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) has launched an investigation into the Daily Mail's front page article about GPs' salaries.

Daily Mail's GP-bashing under investigation

A spokesman for the PCC said a letter will be sent to the editor of the newspaper after ‘a handful of complaints, perhaps seven or eight'.

The story claimed GPs were earning up to £380,000 a year despite acknowledging that ‘in some cases figures include cash GPs have to pay out for staff salaries and rents'.

GPC chairman Dr Laurence Buckman has also written a private letter of complaint to the newspaper's editor, Paul Dacre.

A negotiation between the complainants and the newspaper would be sought to resolve the matter, said a PCC spokesman.

If a resolution cannot be reached, the commission will make a ruling as to whether the PCC code of practice has been breached.

tom.ireland@haymarket.com

Editor's blog - £380,000? Does the Daily Mail not understand how GPs are paid?

More news from 06 August 2009

Tags: PRACTICE STAFF, NURSE, GP, PHARMACIST

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All Comments

Adam Janjua - 06 August 2009

Typical of the media......unless Michael Jackson dies or there is a plane crash....they will always revert to GP bashing......its a wonder that we are still the most trusted profession by the public!

David Cocks - 06 August 2009

ALL PRACTICE ACCOUNTS SHOULD BE PUBLISHED WHERE THE INCOME IS DERIVED MAINLY FROM GMS <PMS OR DISPENSING TO NHS PATIENTS, PUBLIC MONEY SO SHOULD BE OPEN , THEN ALL COSTS AND DRAWINGS CAN BE SEEN. THEN ABLE TO RESPOND TO THE MISSLEADING REPORTS..

Peter Wallace - 06 August 2009

Does the Daily Mail \(or any other paper) understand anything other than selling papers?? Why let the truth get in the way of a good story? Peter

Jonathan Snell - 10 August 2009

I am glad Dr Buckman has written to the PCC.

The main issue here is that of the media undermining the trust in the doctor-patient relationship for monetary gain.

A practice that is subversive, immoral and ultimately in nobody's interest. If you read this Daily Mail worker - are you happy that you demoralise a profession by misinforming and antagonising the public? I presume you use the NHS yourself when needed?

Geraldine Eld - 10 August 2009

I have written to the PPC have you? I have also stopped buying the Mail.

Neil Durham - 10 August 2009

Hi Geraldine,

We'd be really interested in hearing from you to take our coverage of this story on. Would you email your details to tom.ireland@haymarket.com and we will take it from there? Many thanks, Neil.

Peter Budden - 15 August 2009

Should anyone be surprised. The Daily Mail has long been the worst educated newsheet on most things medical.

It has a long and "distinguished history of GP bashing, it has some of the most inaccurate, poorly researched medical articles, frequently written by correspondants who after umpteen years \(Jenny Hope take notice, please...) still can't tell the difference between a virus and a bactreia, and is frequently used by drug companies to seed new product releases with articles on particular serious diseases \(such as restless legs and shift worker sleep disorder) In short a pointless rag, which was only bought in our house for its sport pages, and hasn't dirtied our threshold in the last five years