Keep beliefs out of the surgery, UK doctors told

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - British doctors have been told to keep their personal beliefs out of the surgery, after a growing number of GPs sought guidance from their regulatory body, the General Medical Council (GMC).

Under new GMC guidelines, GPs will not be able to let their personal, religious or moral beliefs affect patients' treatment.

Those who are anti-abortion, for example, must reveal their views to women seeking abortions and refer them to another medic. Doctors who wear veils for religious reasons should remove them in circumstances in which they pose an obstacle to communication -- such as the treatment of deaf patients who need to lip-read -- or developing trust.

Examples of instances where patients' personal beliefs might affect treatment and where doctors have sought guidance include the refusal of blood products by Jehovah's Witnesses or the circumcision of a male child for religious or cultural reasons.

The new guidelines were published after the GMC witnessed a jump in the number of queries from GPs unsure of how to act in certain situations.

"We've had more calls from GPs aware that religious and moral issues have been more at the front of the public's mind in the last couple of years," a GMC spokeswoman said.

John Jenkins, chairman of the GMC standards and ethics committee, said: "The guidance balances doctors' right to practise in accordance with their views and beliefs, and patients' right to receive timely and appropriate medical care.

"We are clear that doctors must not mislead patients about the options available to them or leave them with nowhere to turn."

(Reporting by Jennifer Hill; editing by Stephen Addison and Paul Casciato)