Praying with patients may cost UK doctor his license
Issues@Hand
AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs
September 2019 – Dr. Richard Scott, a general practitioner at Bethesda Medical Centre in Margate, Kent, England, is under investigation after a complaint was filed accusing him of praying for and evangelizing patients. An acquaintance of a patient claimed “discomfort at the use of prayer” and made the initial allegation to the National Secular Society.
The NSS then filed a complaint with the General Medical Council, which subsequently launched an inquiry questioning Dr. Scott’s fitness to practice. Scott believes the NSS is “gunning” for him and wants to see him lose his job. Tim Dieppe, head of public policy for the advocacy group Christian Concern, said Scott always asks patients if they are open to discussing faith, and if they are not, he respects their wishes. “There’s no complaint about, medically, what he’s done or the diagnosis or what the clinic is offering…,” Dieppe said. “He’s a very good doctor with longstanding experience … what’s wrong with him talking to patients about the benefits of prayer?”
