How the guidance applies to doctors

Good Medical Practice describes what is expected of all doctors registered with the GMC. It is your responsibility to be familiar with Good Medical Practice and to follow the guidance it contains. It is guidance, not a statutory code, so you must use your judgement to apply the principles to the various situations which you will face as a doctor, whether or not you routinely see patients. You must be prepared to explain and justify your decisions and actions.

In Good Medical Practice the terms 'you must' and 'you should' are used in the following ways:

• 'You must' is used for an overriding duty or principle.
• 'You should' is used where we are providing an explanation of how you will meet the overriding duty.
• 'You should' is also used where the principle or duty will not apply in all situations or circumstances, or where there are factors outside your control which might affect whether and/or how you can comply with the guidance.

Serious or persistent failure to follow this guidance will put your registration at risk. (GMP 2006, How Good Medical Practice applies to you).

Guidance for Fitness to Practise decision-makers

We have issued guidance for use during both the investigation and adjudication stages of the Fitness to Practise Procedures. This information provides illustrations of how GMP is used to inform Fitness to Practice decisions through all stages of the procedures.

Guidance used by Fitness to Practise Panels

The 'Indicative Sanctions Guidance for Fitness to Practise Guidance' (April 2005) provides a framework for Panellists when deciding what action, if any, to take against a doctor's registration. It says the following about clinical care:

1. Failing to provide an acceptable level of treatment/care
2. 46. Cases in this category are ones where a practitioner has not acted in a patient's best interests and has failed to provide an adequate level of care, falling well below expected professional standards. Such cases may involve factors identified on page S1-15 of this guidance. A particularly important consideration in such cases is whether or not a doctor has, or has the potential to develop, insight into these failures. Where this is not evident, it is likely that conditions on registration or suspension may not be appropriate or sufficient.¹³
3. Footnote 13: See judgement in the case of Dr Purabi Ghosh v General Medical Council (Privy Council Appeal No. 69 of 2000). Also Dr John Adrian Garfoot v General Medical Council (Privy Council Appeal No. 81of 2001)

Download the sanctions guidance in full (298kb, pdf)