NHS doctors should avoid using dating apps at work so they are not “matched” with patients based on their location, new guidance warns.
A document drawn up by Health Education England (HEE) for junior doctors also includes advice on sexting, suggesting they avoid sending nude pictures that include their faces. It also reminds them that sending unsolicited images is a criminal offence.
While doctors are already told they should not pursue relationships with patients, under General Medical Council rules, the new advice addresses the “unique challenges” of dating apps.
Many apps use geolocation data to find other users in the area. The HEE advice says doctors should therefore not use them at work, because it risks “inappropriate communications” with patients or colleagues.
The document also advises them to “avoid sexting, if possible” and if they do choose to send explicit messages, “only do so with people you know and trust”. It adds: “Avoid having your face in explicit images.”
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The guidance says: “All doctors and dentists lead busy lives with hectic schedules. This can impact on their social and romantic lives and is more likely to impact on younger colleagues.”
While apps represent a convenient way to meet people and form relationships, it says, “the prominence of dating apps does pose unique challenges that are worthy of consideration”.
It adds: “As with most social media platforms, there is blurring of the lines between a doctor’s personal and professional persona, and there is a difficulty in balancing the rights of individuals to express themselves, reassuring patients who might be met socially, either online or in person, and the requirement to uphold the principles outlined in GMC guidance.”
Many medics online mocked the guidelines, saying they were a “massive overreach” into doctors’ private lives.
Chris Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “This document notes that doctors ‘lead busy lives’. If only the same could be said for the staff at Health Education England.”
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An spokesman for the NHS said: “This guidance was drafted to support trainee doctors with meeting GMC guidelines following recent fitness to practice cases.”
