How would you cope in the media spotlight?

How would you manage the full glare of the media if you were involved in a high profile case and journalists were pursuing you?

Introduction
While many doctors hope it will never happen to them, figures produced by the Medical Defence Union (MDU) reveal that more and more doctors are being approached by journalists investigating accusations about care or treatment.
Handling the media
A general practitioner inadvertently gave a child the MMR (mumps, measles, rubella) vaccine when the parents had specified they wanted single dose vaccines as their older child had recently been diagnosed with autism. He apologised immediately and explained how the mix up had occurred.
A week later a reporter from a local paper rang the surgery and the general practitioner politely explained that he couldn’t comment. The next day the paper ran a story about the case with the parents saying the doctor may have condemned their child to autism. The story also featured a picture of the harassed looking doctor running to his car to escape the attention of the paper’s photographer.
The general practitioner was angry about the one sided story and concerned about what his other patients would think. He rang his medical defence organisation to find out whether he should ask the paper to print a correction.
While sympathising with the doctor, the MDU explained that he could not put his side of the story over as he owed a duty of confidentiality to the child. The MDU press office also explained that, in their experience, responding to these stories, even in general terms could give the story “legs”—in other words, keep the story running for a longer period in the paper—and that by not responding the story was more likely to die down. The doctor agreed that there was nothing he could say and the press office was able to give him advice about responding to any other journalists who might approach him and about posing for photographs. Fortunately, the doctor did not need to put this advice into action as the story did not appear again.

o Try to stay calm. Avoid becoming angry or aggressive. You may say something you would not wish to see in print

o Don’t respond to a journalist’s questions immediately. Take a note of the journalist’s name, the organisation they work for, and their deadline and tell them you will call back
 
o Contact your medical defence organisation. They will help you formulate an appropriate response, which can be made either by yourself or by one of their media team on your behalf. Your trust press office may also be able to help.

o Call the journalist back as soon as possible. If they are asking about a particular case it is unlikely you’ll be able to say anything except that you can’t comment because of your duty of confidentiality. But many journalists who are not health specialists will not realise this, so it is worth explaining it to them rather than just saying “no comment,” which can seem evasive.

o Remember you are “on the record” from the moment a journalist contacts you. Everything you and other members of your team say can be quoted. Beware of off the cuff remarks or of confirming any details that could breach confidentiality

o If a photographer or broadcaster tries to film you, do not attempt to cover your face or hide. Allow them to take a photograph or film you, and usually they will then leave you alone
 If filming takes place outside the surgery ensure that patients cannot be identified and that the film crew is not obstructing patient access

o Above all else, remain professional. Remember the journalist is doing his or her job, just as you are doing yours.

It’s worth bearing in mind that in most cases where a patient actually carries out the threat of “going to the media,” the media will not be interested. While the sensationalism of some newspapers might make it sound implausible, most journalists understand that medicine and the doctor-patient relationship are not simplistic black and white issues. But if you do receive a call from the media asking for a comment on patient care and you’re unsure of how best to respond, contact your medical defence organisation for advice.
(Dawn Boyall, and Matthew Lee In BMJ Career Focus  2005;330:16-17 (8 January)



 

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