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.
The GMC:
- 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;
- deals firmly and fairly with doctors whose fitness to practise is questioned.
What action can the GMC take?
Before the GMC can stop or limit a doctor's right to practise medicine, it needs evidence of impaired fitness to practise. This might be, for example, because they:
- have not kept their medical knowledge and skills up to date and are not competent;
- have taken advantage of their role as a doctor or have done something wrong;
- are too ill to work safely.
We can also 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. A warning will not be appropriate where the concerns relate exclusively to a doctor's physical or mental health.
What the GMC can't do
The GMC cannot:
- deal with concerns or complaints about nurses, pharmacists, dentists, opticians, hospital or practice managers or administrative staff, or anyone who is not a registered doctor;
- normally give you a detailed explanation of what happened to you. This can only come from the doctor or health provider;
- order a doctor to provide the treatment you want;
- pay you compensation;
- fine a doctor;
- order a doctor to give you access to your records;
- make a doctor apologise to you.
