A patient’s guide - How you can refer a doctor to the GMC

Introduction

This page explains what to do if you are unhappy with the way a doctor has treated or cared for you.

Click on these links to access Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland versions of How to complain about a doctor, or foreign language versions.

What can I do if I am concerned about a doctor?

If you want an apology, explanation or a review of your treatment, you should first contact the place where you received care.

Most complaints about doctors can be settled locally, and quickly, by the doctor's employers. The NHS hospital, GP practice, private hospital or clinic where you received care have their own complaints procedures. Please contact them for details.

You can find details of the NHS complaints procedures on the NHS website.

Where can I get further advice about my complaint?

You can also get advice from:

• Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS) who may be able to help resolve your complaint informally. You can find contact details at www.pals.nhs.uk.
• Your Independent Complaints Advocacy Services (ICAS) who can give you independent advice if you wish to make a formal complaint. Read more about ICAS on the Department of Health website.
• Your local Citizens Advice Bureau. You can find contact details at www.adviceguide.org.uk.

Contacting these organisations may help sort out your concern without any unnecessary delays.

What do I do if I have a more serious complaint?

The General Medical Council is responsible for ensuring that doctors in the UK meet the standards of good medical practice we set for them. This means we can take action in more serious cases, if we need to stop a doctor from practising or to restrict their practice in some way.

If you think your doctor is not fit to practise or may be a risk to patients, then please contact us.

If you are not sure whether to report a doctor to us, it may be helpful to discuss your concerns with us by ringing 0845 357 0022. All calls are confidential and we will advise you what to do.

These are examples of the types of cases where we may need to act:

• serious or repeated mistakes in carrying out medical procedures or in diagnosis, such as prescribing drugs in a dangerous way
• failure to examine a patient properly or to respond reasonably to a patient's needs
• fraud or dishonesty
• serious breaches of a patient's confidentiality
• any serious criminal offence

If you think that a doctor has committed a criminal offence, you should contact the police as well as the GMC.

How do I report a doctor to the GMC?

If you have any questions please ring the helpline number on 0845 357 0022

You can report a doctor to the GMC by:

• writing to us at the General Medical Council Fitness to Practise Directorate, St James's Buildings, 79 Oxford Street, Manchester M1 6FQ or
• emailing practise@gmc-uk.org
• downloading and completing the complaint form and sending it to the above address. Download the complaint form (97kb, pdf).

We will need the following information from you

• the doctor's name and work address
• an explanation of your concerns - with dates
• copies of any supporting documents such as relevant medical records
• the names and addresses of anyone else who can support the facts around your concerns.

Please note that it will be difficult for us to investigate complaints if you want to remain anonymous.

What will the GMC do with my complaint about a doctor?

We review all complaints carefully to see if there are issues that we need to investigate. If we decide that we do not need to investigate, we may pass the complaint to the doctor's employer so that it can be handled locally.

If we do decide to investigate, we will need to show the doctor your complaint. Once we have received his or her comments, we will give you a chance to respond. We will also send you a factsheet that explains the procedures in more detail.

Once we have collected the information we need, the case will be considered by two case examiners (one is medical, the other non-medical) who are senior GMC staff.

They will consider whether the concerns are serious enough for the doctor to attend a hearing.

If they are, a panel will decide at the hearing if the doctor is fit to practise. A Fitness to Practise panel hearing is the final stage of our procedures.

What can the GMC do?

If we identify concerns about the doctor that mean we need to take action, we can

• Issue a warning
• Put conditions on the doctor's registration so that they are only allowed to do medical work under supervisionm or so that they are restricted to certain areas of practice
• Agree undertakings, for example they agree to re-train, or work under supervision
• Suspend the doctor's name from the register – so that they cannot practise during the suspension period
• Remove the doctor's name from the register.

What can't the GMC do?

We cannot:

• give you a detailed explanation of what happened to you – this can only come from the doctor or the healthcare organisation
• order a doctor to provide the treatment you want
• help you with a claim for compensation
• fine a doctor
• order a doctor to give you access to your records
• make a doctor apologise to you.

How long will it take for the GMC to consider my complaint?

We appreciate that making a complaint can be stressful, so we will try to consider your complaint as quickly as we can. If we decide to investigate your complaint, we will give you an idea of how long our enquiries will take.

What if I am not happy with the way the GMC has handled my complaint?

We will keep you informed of any action we are taking and provide you with a clear explanation for our decisions.

If you are not happy with the way we have handled your complaint, please discuss the problem with the person who handled your complaint. You may contact their manager if you are still unhappy, or email customerservicemanager@gmc-uk.org.