British Doctors Allowed to Pray for Patients
New guidance for GPs on praying for patients has been released by the Medical Defence Union (MDU) – with backing from the General Medical Council (GMC) and one of the country’s leading doctors.
The guidance quotes an official from the GMC suggesting that a ‘tactful’ offer to pray for patients could be appropriate:
“Nothing in the GMC’s guidance Personal Beliefs and Medical Practice precludes doctors from praying with their patients. … It must be tactful, so that the patient can decline without embarrassment—because while some may welcome the suggestion, others may regard it as inappropriate,” says Jane O’Brien, assistant director for standards and fitness to practice.
The GMC has told a magazine for GPs, called Pulse that it still stands by the statement, made in 2009.
And the news is being welcomed by one of the country’s leading doctors.
Click here to read the rest of this article at The Church of England Newspaper.
