TY - JOUR T1 - <span hwp:id="article-title-1" class="article-title">Chaperones: are we protecting patients?</span><span hwp:id="article-title-18" class="sub-article-title">Commentary</span><span hwp:id="article-title-19" class="sub-article-title">Commentary</span> JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 54 LP - 57 DO - 10.3399/bjgp08X263893 VL - 58 IS - 546 AU - Debbie Wai AU - Brian Keighley AU - Rob Hendry AU - Mythily Katsaris AU - Rishi Singhal Y1 - 2008/01/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/58/546/54.abstract N2 - A GP was suspended for 4 months in 2005 from the medical register after a Fitness to Practise panel found him guilty of serious professional misconduct. A female patient had consulted him with bowel problems. He proceeded to examine her back and in bending her right knee, placed his hand directly into her vulval area.1Cases of sexual misconduct are on the increase. The General Medical Council (GMC) in December 2001 issued guidance on intimate examinations, recommending a chaperone is present during examination of the breasts, genitalia, and rectum.2 This case highlights the requisite for these guidelines to be challenged and the situations in which chaperones are required to be redefined. It is likely and possible, either advertently or inadvertently, that patients are sexually harassed by their doctor even during an examination of the torso.How do you define a chaperone?In medical practice there is no exact definition of a chaperone. The English word was first recorded in the 15th century and originally meant ‘hood for a hawk.’ It later came to mean ‘a woman who protects a young single woman.’ The French verb ‘chaperonner’ means ‘to cover with a hood’ and therefore the word came to have the sense ‘protector.’GMC guidelinesPhysicians have long been advised to have a chaperone present during specific parts of the physical examination. The GMC in 2001 produced guidelines for doctors performing intimate examinations. Intimate examinations include examination of breasts, genitalia or rectum. It is recommended that doctors offer a chaperone or invite the patient (in advance if possible), to have a friend or relative present.2 The GMC pointed out that in the case of Clifford Ayling, a GP alleged to have assaulted former patients, a chaperone must be a third party of the same sex as the patient and with nothing to gain by interpreting the … ER -