Professional support is an important lifeboat, but let’s also stop people falling into the water (BMJ, 26 July 2026)

Summary

The critical importance of doctors in providing high-quality healthcare is undisputed, but what happens when something goes wrong? When mistakes or substandard patient experiences occur, it is right that care should be scrutinised. However, even though the issue may be at the healthcare organisation or wider systems level, many doctors report the negative impact of complaints on individual clinicians, leading to defensive practice and detrimental effects on their mental health and well-being.1 This reflects a broader tendency within healthcare to focus on responding to harm once it has occurred rather than investing in upstream measures that prevent harm in the first place.

This BMJ Editorial shine a welcome spotlight on what healthcare organisations can do to better support doctors experiencing work performance issues.