New figures show there was a 46 per cent increase in complaints made against doctors between 2008 and 2012.

The Medical Council has published its first ever review of complaints made against GPs, which finds that male doctors are twice as likely to have issues raised about them, than females.

Most concerns were raised against older male doctors aged between 56 and 64, and those who qualified in Ireland.

The President of the Medical Council, Prof Freddie Wood, says the complaints made against men is far outside any gender ratio, and suggested the cause may be because men are “more direct” than women.

“Men tend to be more direct and if they’re under pressure ... I think they’re likely to provide less time,” Prof Wood said.

“Ladies and women, as you know, will often provide more comfort than men do.

“Men are very short, they give you the knowledge and they move on,” he added.

The review is the first of its kind in Ireland, and Prof Wood believes it “is a really significant report both for the Council and the wider health system.

“I hope that by reflecting on the findings and looking at the most common causes of complaint, we can work with our partner organisations to reduce such instances in the future, and improve the collective response to concerns about doctors’ practice for the benefit of both members of the public and doctors.”

Further findings from the report include:

• Male doctors were over twice as likely to be the subject of a complaint in comparison to their female counterparts. Complaints against male doctors were also more likely to proceed to Fitness to Practise Inquiry. 
• Of 221 complaints which proceeded to inquiry by the Fitness to Practise Committee from 2008-2012, 68% resulted in findings being made in relation to doctors’ practice and sanctions were applied in all cases by the Medical Council. 
• Highlighting the fact that employers have greater insights into doctors’ practice, complaints from the HSE and other healthcare organisations were more likely to proceed to a Fitness to Practise Inquiry and were also more likely to result in a finding about the doctor’s practise. However, only 3% of complaints made to the Medical Council were from the HSE and other healthcare organisations.
• Doctors who qualified in Ireland were less likely than internationally qualified doctors to experience a higher impact outcome through the disciplinary process.
• The qualitative study identified that some work contexts presented more complaint-prone environments: psychiatry, cosmetic surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology and locum/out-of-hours.