Complaints and the role of the GMC
The General Medical Council (GMC) regulates doctors in the United Kingdom. Its governing body - the Council - is made up of both doctors and members of the public. It sets the standards of Good Medical Practice it expects of doctors throughout their working lives; assures the quality of undergraduate medical education in the UK and co-ordinates all stages of medical education; administers systems for the registration and licensing of doctors to control their entry to, and continuation in, medical practice in the UK; and makes decisions on a doctor’s fitness to practise where it is questioned.
When the GMC can take action
- misconduct
- deficient performance
- a criminal conviction or caution in the British Isles (or elsewhere for an offence which would be a criminal offence if committed in England or Wales)
- physical or mental ill-health
- a determination (decision) by a regulatory body either in the British Isles or overseas.
The GMC's procedures are divided into two separate stages, investigation and adjudication.
Sanctions available to the GMC
- The GMC can issue a warning to a doctor where the doctor's fitness to practise is not impaired but there has been a significant departure from the principles set out in the GMC's guidance for doctors, Good Medical Practice. A warning will be disclosed to a doctor's employer and to any other enquirer during a five-year period.
- Where a doctor's fitness to practise is found to be impaired, we can suspend or remove a doctor from the medical register or place conditions on the doctor's registration.
The legal framework for Fitness to Practise procedures is set out in Medical Act 1983 and the Fitness to Practise Rules 2004.
|
