General Medical Council

For doctors

Contents

• The state of medical education and practice in the UK 2012
• Good Medical Practice
• Consent
• Confidentiality
• 0–18 years: guidance for all doctors
• Protecting children and young people
• Leadership and management for all doctors
• Raising and acting on concerns about patient safety
• Treatment and care towards the end of life
• Supplementary guidance on standards and ethics
• Continuing professional development 
• National training surveys
• A guide for health professionals on how to report a doctor to the GMC
• A guide for doctors reported to the GMC
• Help for witnesses
• Annual statistics for our fitness to practise procedures 

The state of medical education and practice in the UK: 2012

Our second annual report on the state of medical education and practice in the UK sets out much of what we know about the medical profession and the challenges it faces, drawing on our own data and, where appropriate, data from other sources. This year our report is accompanied by an online data app, which allows you to conduct your own analysis on some of the data from the report.

Email pdf: The state of medical education and practice in the UK: 2012

Good Medical Practice

Our core guidance is Good Medical Practice, which sets out the principles and values on which good practice is founded.

Web version: View Good Medical Practice
Email pdf: Good Medical Practice

Consent

Consent expands on the guidance in Good Medical Practice, which requires doctors to be satisfied that they have consent from a patient, or other valid authority, before undertaking any examination or investigation, providing treatment, or involving patients in teaching and research.

Web version: View Consent
Email pdf: Consent

Confidentiality

We receive more enquiries about confidentiality than any other issue. This guidance offers advice to doctors on this complicated area, from how to keep records secure to when and how to share information for research purposes.

Web version: View Confidentiality
Email pdf: Confidentiality

0–18 years: guidance for all doctors

This guidance develops the duties and principles set out in Good Medical Practice and in our other guidance. It focuses on children and young people from birth until their 18th birthday.

Web version: View 0–18 years: guidance for all doctors
Email pdf: 0–18 years: guidance for all doctors

Protecting children and young people

All children and young people are entitled to protection from abuse and neglect. This guidance aims to help doctors keep children and young people safe, and to support doctors in what will always be a difficult area of practice.

Web version: View Protecting children and young people: the responsibilities of all doctors
Email pdf: Protecting children and young people: the responsibilities of all doctors

Leadership and management for all doctors

This guidance sets out the wider management and leadership responsibilities of all doctors in the workplace. These responsibilities relate to employment issues, teaching and training, planning, using and managing resources, raising and acting on concerns, and helping to develop and improve services.

Web version: View Leadership and management for all doctors
Email pdf: Leadership and management for all doctors

Raising and acting on concerns about patient safety

All doctors have a duty to act when they believe patients' safety is at risk, or that patients' care or dignity is being compromised. This guidance sets out doctors' responsibilities and gives advice on how to raise and act on concerns.

Web version: View Raising and acting on concerns about patient safety
Email pdf: Raising and acting on concerns about patient safety

Treatment and care towards the end of life

This guidance develops the duties and principles set out in Good Medical Practice and in our other guidance. It sets out the standards of practice expected of doctors treating patients nearing the end of their life.

Web version: View Treatment and care towards the end of life
Email pdf: Treatment and care towards the end of life

Supplementary guidance on standards and ethics

You can find the full list of supplementary guidance publications in the list of ethical guidance. You can access pdfs of the publications in the .

Continuing professional development

This guidance explains what we expect doctors to do to keep their knowledge and skills up to date throughout their working life through continuing professional development. It aims to help doctors as they reflect on their practice and prepare for their annual appraisal and revalidation.

Email pdf: Continuing professional development: guidance for all doctors

National training surveys

The national training surveys are a core part of the work that we carry out each year to monitor the quality of medical education and training in the UK.

Email pdf: National training survey 2012: key findings

You can also find reports from the national training surveys done since 2006 on our survey results page (full website).

A guide for health professionals on how to report a doctor to the GMC

This publication advises individual doctors, medical directors and clinical governance managers on what action to take when they have concerns about a doctor.

Web version: View A guide for health professionals on how to report a doctor to the GMC (full website)
Email pdf: A guide for health professionals on how to report a doctor to the GMC

A guide for doctors reported to the GMC

This publication provides guidance for doctors who have been reported to us by patients, employers, police or other bodies. It explains our investigation processes and gives other related information.

Web version: A guide for doctors reported to the GMC (full website)
Email pdf: A guide for doctors reported to the GMC

We have commissioned BMA Doctors for Doctors to provide independent confidential support and advice for doctors involved in a fitness to practise case.

Email pdf: The Doctor Support Service

Help for witnesses

This publication provides help and advice for witnesses who are giving evidence at fitness to practise hearings, which are run by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.

 
Web version: Help for witnesses (full website)
Email pdf: Help for witnesses

Annual statistics for our fitness to practise procedures

This report provides data on volumes and outcomes at each stage of our fitness to practise process for January–December 2010.

Email pdf: 2010 annual statistics (pdf)