SCA practice case · Video consultation
Mental health: SCA practice case
A doctor asks for help and for it to stay off the record
The candidate brief
This is what you would read in the 3-minute window before the patient connects. Read it once, note two or three hypotheses and one thing you must not miss, then stop.
Patient
Tobias Reid · 31-year-old man
Setting
Video consultation booked by the patient late in the day, in the last appointment slot.
Past history
- Nil significant
Medication
- No regular medication
Allergies
No known drug allergies
Recent notes
Occupation: GP specialty trainee (ST2) at another local practice. No previous consultations apart from travel vaccines (2023). Last recorded alcohol intake at registration: 14 units a week.
Reason for contact
Video consultation booked as “personal matter”, last slot of the day.
Practise this case
The full case is in the Hot Seat with the Gold plan. You get a 12-minute timer, a role-player script with facts released only when asked, examiner checkpoints by the three RCGP domains, a model consultation and the guidance behind it.
What this case tests
Show the learning points (spoiler: read after you have practised)
Doctors are patients too, and they often present late, minimise, and ask for things to stay off the record. The GP must keep an accurate record (GMC Good medical practice 2024) but can explain exactly who can see it and how sensitive information is protected. The consultation tests a full mood, alcohol and suicide risk assessment, recognising the patient-safety issues (a lunchtime drink before surgery and a prescribing error) without becoming his regulator, and steering him to confidential specialist help (NHS Practitioner Health), time off and educational support.
The guidance behind it
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