Concerns about doctors

The General Medical Council (GMC) regulates doctors in the United Kingdom (UK). We register doctors to practise in the UK and have the powers to either issue a warning to a doctor, remove the doctor from the register, suspend or place conditions on a doctor's registration.

Information for patients

The GMC has developed an interactive guide called Patients’ help, for patients who are considering making a complaint about a doctor.

Please click here if you have trouble accessing Patients’ help.

If you have read the content of Patients’ help and feel confident your complaint should go to the GMC, please fill in our online complaint form (alternatively, you can download a complaints form (97kb, pdf) and send it by post).

Access Welsh language versions of Patients help and the online form.

Information for doctors

Doctors and/or employers who have concerns about a colleague can read advice in Referring a doctor to the GMC – a guide for health professionals.

Doctors who have been subject to a complaint can access guidance in Doctors under investigation.

Information for employers

The GMC has published guidance for employers relating to doctors under investigation and going through our Fitness to Practise procedures. View our information for employers.

Information for witnesses

We have developed a range of guidance to help witnesses who are due to appear at our Fitness to Practise hearings, including what to expect before and during the hearing. See our witness help section.

Other information

For a wide range of information including how are processes work from the initial investigation to hearings and decisions, please use the main menu. We have also provided quick links to key content on the right hand side of the screen.

In other sections

Legal framework for Fitness to Practise procedures

The legal framework for our Fitness to Practise procedures is set out in Medical Act 1983 and the Fitness to Practise Rules 2004. You can view the legislation and supplementary information on the Legislation page in the About Us section of the website.

GMC Affiliates

The Government’s White Paper in February 2007, Trust Assurance and Safety: The Regulation of Healthcare Professionals in the 21st Century proposed a network of GMC Affiliates to provide support, advice and guidance to employers in managing concerns about doctors. The Paper recommended that the role of GMC Affiliates should be piloted in England, ahead of a full scale roll-out.

Find out more about the pilots on our GMC Affiliates page.