January 2008

A communication from the General Medical Council
January 2008, Issue 41

What's New?

Welcome to the January edition of the GMC e-bulletin

Please continue to send us your feedback, questions and ideas for topics you would like to see covered in future editions.

New registration framework takes effect for UK graduates

The GMC’s new registration framework for doctors was introduced in October 2007 for international medical graduates and took effect for UK graduates from January 2008. Organisations employing doctors who are new, or newly-restored, to full registration now need to ensure that the GMC has approved them as suitable practice settings.

The new framework is operating well; and all NHS organisations in the UK – as well as a growing number of private organisations – currently hold approved practice setting (APS) status.

Click here to find out more about the new framework and how it affects UK graduates.

If you have any views on the way the new framework was introduced, or your organisation’s experience of being granted APS status, please let us know by emailing nrf@gmc-uk.org.

GMC collection of ethnicity data

The GMC’s recent campaign to compile ethnicity data for all registered doctors has been very successful and we are well on our way to achieving our aim of obtaining accurate ethnicity data for all doctors practising in the UK.

Previous research has shown that international medical graduates are proportionately more likely than UK graduates to be referred to the GMC by the NHS and other public bodies; and that consequently they have been proportionately over-represented within our fitness to practise procedures. As we have a duty to ensure our processes and procedures are fair, objective, transparent and free from unlawful discrimination, we need to understand why this has happened.

Before October 2007, we held ethnicity data for 30% of all doctors on the register under the outdated 1991 Census headings. In October we launched an intensive campaign to ensure we held current ethnicity data for as many doctors as possible. We have now successfully collected ethnicity data for 58% of all registered doctors.

Click here to read more about the ethnicity census, and the high profile support it has attracted.

Extending the Health and Social Care Bill to Northern Ireland and Scotland

On 14 January the Northern Ireland Assembly passed a motion to enable the provisions of the Health and Social Care Bill (HSCB) to be extended to Northern Ireland.

Click here for details of the debate.

The Legislative Consent Motion required for the relevant provision within the HSCB to be agreed in Scotland, was passed without debate by the Scottish Parliament on 9 January.

GMC gives evidence to Health and Social Care Bill Committee

The President and the Chief Executive of the GMC gave evidence to the Health and Social Care Bill Committee on Tuesday 8 January.

Detailed questions were asked about the GMC's views on the Bill, and in particular our concerns about the independence from government of the proposed new body, the Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator.

Further questions were asked by the Committee on a range of topics including:

  • the introduction of the civil standard of proof
  • the role of responsible officers
  • our advice and guidance to doctors on expert witness testimony and writing references.

The session provided an important opportunity for the GMC to express its views on the Bill, and the Committee appeared broadly supportive of our arguments.

Click here to see a full transcript of the evidence session.

Consultation on confidentiality guidance

The GMC is holding an initial consultation on its confidentiality guidance for doctors. This consultation is the first step in a review of the GMC’s current guidance, Confidentiality: Protecting and Providing Information, which was published in 2004. The guidance consists of a booklet which outlines high level principles of good practice and a supplementary booklet of frequently asked questions.

Click here to read the guidance and frequently asked questions.

We have not consulted on this subject since 1998-2000, when there was considerable public debate about the common law, and the balance between the benefits of research/epidemiology and respect for the rights of individuals.

A working group, which includes medical and lay members of the GMC and external contributors, has been established to oversee a review of the guidance. The group is chaired by Dr Henrietta Campbell, the former Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland.

The group is issuing a call for individuals and groups, whether professional, public or patient-orientated, as well as employers and others with an interest in the area, to answer a set of questions to clarify views on the existing guidance. The group is also asking consultees to identify the biggest challenges for doctors in balancing respect for patients with the benefits of information sharing.

Click here to take part in the initial consultation.

Alternatively you can obtain hard copies of the consultation document from the GMC Standards and Ethics Team, Regent’s Place, 350 Euston Road, London NW1 3JN or by calling us on 020 7189 5404.

The consultation will run until Friday 29 February 2008.

Ethical guidance brought to life with Good Medical Practice in Action

The GMC has launched a new interactive web zone set in a virtual GP’s surgery.

Users are invited to consider a number of ethical dilemmas, which might be faced by doctors, through a series of patient consultation case studies. The case studies highlight some of the issues addressed in the GMC’s core guidance, Good Medical Practice.

The consultations explore issues such as conscientious objection, communication skills, advertising, and reporting concerns about colleagues.

We are inviting organisations to add the link below to their own websites to encourage staff to familiarise themselves with the guidance.

Click here to try Good Medical Practice in Action.

If you do intend to use the link we would be grateful if you could let us know by emailing reform@gmc-uk.org with a link to the relevant web page.

GMC publishes 2008 Business Plan

The GMC has published its 2008 Business Plan which sets out our key aims and objectives for the year ahead. 

The plan continues our programme of fundamental reform and outlines the work we will do to continue leading and supporting the modernisation of medical regulation, ensuring patient safety is at its core. Click here to view the 2008 GMC Business Plan.

GMC signs MoU with NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services

The GMC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services, (NHSCFS). The MoU formalises co-operation between the two organisations, and clarifies issues around the sharing of information where both organisations are investigating a doctor.

The MOU has been endorsed by the Scottish Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon MSP.

GMC calls on MEPs to safeguard patient safety

The GMC has called on MEPs to recognise the importance of sharing disciplinary information about health professionals to ensure patient safety across Europe.

At a meeting in the European Parliament last week the GMC reminded MEPs that the free movement of health professionals within the EU is an issue which affects European patients.

The GMC leads the Healthcare Professionals Crossing Borders (HPCB) initiative, a group of European healthcare regulators set up to maintain patient safety in Europe, whilst supporting increasing professional mobility.

As part of this work, the GMC has signed up to the ‘Portugal Agreement’ which identifies shared principles of regulation and takes steps to set out how European regulators can share information about healthcare professionals’ individual fitness to practise.

Further information about HPCB be found at www.hpcb.eu.

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