GPs to petition Google to disallow public reviews of practices

Exclusive One LMC is planning to start a campaign to get Google to disallow reviews for GP practices, in a bid to curb online abuse towards staff.

The tech giant has already disallowed Google Maps reviews for primary and secondary schools in the UK and Ireland, following a successful campaign by a head teacher and senior leaders representing about 50 schools.

Now Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland LMC is considering petitioning Google to remove the possibility of leaving reviews for GP practices, arguing that practices cannot ‘fully respond’ to Google reviews without breaching patient confidentiality ‘regardless of how abusive or inaccurate they are’.

LLR LMC chief executive Dr Grant Ingrams told Pulse: ‘General practices have a greater argument not to be included, compared with schools, due to confidentiality – meaning we cannot defend against bad reviews even if they are demonstrable nonsense.

‘On behalf of my practice I have threatened to remove patients from our registered list if they have published abusive or defamatory comments and do not delete them.’

Google had already announced in 2019 that it would no longer let people leave reviews on schools, which are ‘critical services’ but teachers said this had ‘implemented sporadically and in some cases not at all’. 

And last year, Google said that it would enforce ‘a full ban’ and remove existing reviews for schools and that this was ‘due to consistent off-topic and harmful reviews on those places’. 

In a message to GPs, Dr Ingrams said the LMC may need the support of local GPs in petitioning Google around this issue.

He said: ‘The reasons cited for blocking reviews for schools also apply to general practices, with the added disadvantage that we often cannot fully respond to Google reviews without breaching patient confidentiality regardless of how abusive or inaccurate they are.

‘My own practice has successfully managed to require abusive or inappropriate postings to be taken down where the originator can be identified by threatening the individual with removal from the practice list, banning them from the premises and advising that we may consider legal action for defamation.

‘We may need your support in petitioning Google, but in the interim if there is an unfair posting on social media about your surgery that you feel unable to respond to, talk to the LMC and we will advise and discuss whether we can provide a general response on the behalf of general practice.’

Pulse has contacted Google for comment.

Last year, a review of 50 studies found that abuse towards GP practice staff was ‘widespread’ globally, with the proportion of participants experiencing violence and abuse in most UK surveys being over 60%. 

Pulse has reported extensively on incidents of abuse towards GPs and their staff.