EPL Doctors' Group wants more protection for doctors after Carneiro's Chelsea exit

The Premier League Doctors' Group wants to clarify and protect doctor-patient relationships involving team medical staff after Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro reportedly left the club following public criticism by manager Jose Mourinho.

Group chairman Dr. Mark Gillett, director of performance at West Bromwich Albion, says Carneiro's situation saddened her colleagues and reveals the need for increased safeguards for touchline medical staff.

"(Carneiro) has continued to display the highest standards of professional conduct and personal integrity throughout an extremely challenging period for herself," Gillett told reporters. "This incident and the media attention given to it highlights the need to clarify and safeguard the doctor-patient relationship that exists between Premier League doctors and players.

"The Premier League Doctors' Group will continue to impress these issues to all stakeholders in Premier League football and seek to ensure that the highest standards of assessment and treatment are applied irrespective of any match situation."

Related: Football Medical Association 'disappointed' to see Carneiro leave Chelsea

Mourinho banned both Carneiro and physiotherapist Jon Fearn from on-field duty after the two ran out to treat Eden Hazard against Swansea City on August 8. Mourinho's anger was directed not at the treatment but its timing, saying the doctors left his side vulnerable at a dangerous period of the match.

One month following Mourinho's public dressing-down, Carneiro reportedly departed the club, though Chelsea hasn't officially confirmed her e.