GMC Fitness to Practise procedures: Investigation
The GMC will investigate cases to assess whether they should be referred for adjudication. Cases that appear to require GMC investigation into potentially serious concerns (known as Stream 1 cases) will go to the Fitness to Practise Panel for adjudication. Cases where investigation locally by the doctor's employer would be more appropriate in the first instance (known as Stream 2 cases) may be resolved before the adjudication stage. The GMC aims to complete their investigations within six months.
At any stage in the proceedings the GMC may refer the doctor to the Interim Orders Panel (IOP) that can suspend or restrict a doctor from practising while the investigation continues.
At the end of the investigation by the GMC
At the end of the investigation by the GMC, the case will be considered by two senior GMC staff known as case examiners (one medical and one non-medical). They can:
- conclude the case with no further action;
- issue a warning;
- agree undertakings, for example to retrain or work under supervision; or
- refer the case to a Fitness to Practise Panel.
No case can be concluded or referred to the Fitness to Practise Panel without the agreement of both a medical and non-medical case examiner. If they fail to agree, the matter will be considered by the Investigation Committee, a statutory committee of the GMC.
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