The GMC’s Council has approved plans to establish the new Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.
This is a key part of its programme of reforms to the way it deals with doctors where there are questions about their conduct or their ability to treat patients safely.
The new body will take over the running of doctors’ hearings from as early as next year. It will be operationally separate from the GMC’s investigation arm and will be headed by a senior judicial figure who will be responsible for appointing and performance managing panel members.
Subject to Parliamentary approval and legislative time, the aim is that the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service should submit its own report to Parliament every year.
In a three-month consultation more than three-quarters (76% (1)) of those who responded supported the plan to establish the new service. The GMC will now instigate an independently led process to appoint the tribunal Chair with significant judicial experience to run the service.
Commenting on the decision Niall Dickson, the Chief Executive of the General Medical Council, said:
“This is a major reform and will signal clearly the need for panel hearings to be autonomous and to be seen to be autonomous. In the consultation there was strong support for setting up the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service - for most respondents the question was simply how best to do it.
“The feedback will help us to develop a modern and effective service that will have the confidence of both doctors and patients.”
The Council also approved plans to hold all hearings in Manchester from next year, rather than running hearing centres in both Manchester and London. Around 70% of GMC hearings already take place in Manchester.
At the same time, the GMC’s certification department will also move from London to Manchester, where most GMC staff are based. Relocation of both the adjudication and certification functions to Manchester will generate savings of around £2.8 million a year.
An external agency will be appointed to undertake the independent process to appoint the first Chair of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service. The GMC hopes the new Chair will be in post later this year, or early next, in order for the service to start work during 2012.
The GMC will work closely with the Department of Health to take forward the legislative changes needed for some aspects of the reforms, and will go ahead with plans to cut delay and increase the efficiency of hearings, for example by tighter planning of the way cases are handled.
Notes to editors
1) There were 102 written responses to the consultation. Percentages provided are of respondents to each specific question – not all respondents answered all questions.
The GMC’s proposals followed the Government’s decision not to proceed with establishing the Office of the Healthcare Professions Adjudicator (OHPA) which was to take over adjudication from the GMC.
The GMC’s certification department will relocate to its Hardman Street offices in Manchester. London-based adjudication will relocate to the separate hearing centre at Oxford Street, Manchester, which will later become the offices of the new Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.
For further information please contact the Media Relations Office on 020 7189 5454, out of hours 020 7189 5444/ 07920 461497, email press@gmc-uk.org, website www.gmc-uk.org.
The General Medical Council registers and licenses doctors to practise medicine in the UK.
The law gives us four main functions:
• keeping up-to-date registers of qualified doctors
• fostering good medical practice
• promoting high standards of medical education and training
• dealing firmly and fairly with doctors whose fitness to practise is in doubt
