Doctor Under Investigation Could Lose License to Practice Medicine for Praying with Some Patients

A doctor in the UK is being investigated by the General Medical Council (GMC) because a complaint was made against him for praying with his patients. Dr. Richard Scott is a General Practitioner at Bethesda Medical Centre in Margate, Kent. Dr. Scott states that he only prays with about one out of every 40 patients, and that he always asks for their permission first. Of those he asks, about 90% accept, and the ones who do not, he respects their right to refuse. The complaint to the General Medical Council was allegedly not made by any of his patients, but by an "acquaintance" of one of his patients, who then worked with The National Secular Society (NSS) to lodge the complaint. The NSS allegedly wrote that a "highly vulnerable patient" was uneasy with the use of prayer during a consultation. NSS chief executive Stephen Evans reportedly confirmed that the complaint came from someone known to the patient rather than the patient themselves.