Fitness to Practise Panel
This page provides information about the Fitness to Practise Panel.
Contents
Introduction
The Fitness to Practise Panel hears evidence and decides whether a doctor’s fitness to practise is impaired. Fitness to Practise Panel hearings are the final stage of our procedures following a complaint about a doctor.
Who sits on a Fitness to Practise panel?
The Fitness to Practise Panel comprises medical and non-medical people appointed by the Council to inquire into allegations of impaired fitness to practise.
The panellists, who are not members of the Council, are appointed through open competition against agreed competencies.
The pool of panellists is large (almost 300) but panels considering individual cases normally comprise three to five panellists.
In addition to the chairman, who may be medical or non-medical, there must be at least one medical and one non-medical panellist on each panel.
View the GMC's current Fitness to practise panellists.
A legal assessor sits with each panel and advises on points of law and of mixed law and fact, including the procedure and powers of the panel.
One or more specialist adviser may also be present. Their role is to provide advice to the panel in relation to medical issues regarding a doctor’s health or performance.
View guidance for specialist advisers (73kb, 
pdf).
How do Fitness to Practise hearings work?
The GMC is normally represented at the hearing by a barrister. The doctor is invited to attend and is usually present and legally represented.
Both parties may call witnesses to give evidence and if they do so the witness may be cross-examined by the other party. The panel may also put questions to the witnesses.
The panels meet in public, except where they are considering confidential information concerning the doctor’s health or they are considering making an interim order.
The panel's decision
Once the panel has heard the evidence, it must decide:
- whether the facts alleged have been found proved
- whether, on the basis of the facts found proved, the doctor’s fitness to practise is impaired
- if so, whether any action should be taken against the doctor’s registration.
If the panel concludes that the doctor’s fitness to practise is impaired, the following sanctions are available:
- to take no action
- to accept undertakings offered by the doctor provided the panel is satisfied that such undertakings protect patients and the wider public interest
- to place conditions on the doctor’s registration
- to suspend the doctor’s registration
- to erase the doctor’s name from the Medical Register, so that they can no longer practise.
In deciding on the appropriate sanction the panel must have regard to the Indicative Sanctions Guidance. Details concerning our indicative sanctions guidance are provided for the benefit of lawyers.
The guidance aims to ensure consistency of decision-making and has been welcomed by the courts which hear appeals against decisions taken by panels.
Warnings
If a panel concludes that the doctor’s fitness to practise is not impaired, it may issue a warning to the doctor.
But in order to do so the panel must be satisfied that there has been a significant departure from the standards set out in Good Medical Practice or where there is cause for concern following an assessment of the doctor’s performance.
Professional judgment
Where it is making a finding on disputed facts, the panel must be sure of its decision.
When deciding:
- whether the doctor’s fitness to practise is impaired
- what sanction should be imposed or
- in cases where a doctor’s fitness to practise has not been found to be impaired, whether a warning should be issued
the panel exercises its professional judgment. The panel must be satisfied that any proposed action is sufficient to protect patients and the public interest.
Appeals
Doctors have a right of appeal to the High Court (Court of Session in Scotland) against any decision by a panel to restrict or remove their registration.
The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence may also appeal against certain decisions if they consider the decision was too lenient.
Applications for Restoration
Any doctor whose name was erased from the Medical Register (the Register) by a Fitness to Practise Panel can apply for their name to be restored to the Register.
Doctors cannot apply to have their name restored to the Register until after a period of five years has elapsed since the date their name was erased.
