It's good to talk: Telephone help‐lines for health professionals can support effective and safe working practices

Abstract

Purpose

The paper's aim is to consider the value of medicolegal telephone help‐lines for doctors.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a brief review as to how members of a medical protection organisation use a medicolegal telephone help‐line by analysing 100 random calls during a two week period in March 2008. The range of themes and concerns are compared with annual figures from 2007. Recommendations with regard to the need for national advice are considered.

Findings

The nature of the service provided gives doctors an additional opportunity to explore matters of concern. Doctors appear to need guidance to support decision making in a variety of ways where a clinical or professional situation needs resolving within an appropriate ethical and legal framework.

Practical implications

Health care organizations should reflect on what if any additional ethical / medicolegal training is required for their employees to assist in difficult professional decisions. There appears to be a significant need for doctors to be able to access independent telephone advice and the use of such services may need to be encouraged.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the benefit for health professionals to have access to independent, objective advice and discussions to support ethical decision making.

Citation

Cowan, J. and Haslam, J. (2008), "It's good to talk: Telephone help‐lines for health professionals can support effective and safe working practices", Clinical Governance: An International Journal, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 320-325. https://doi.org/10.1108/14777270810913003