How we’ll protect patients in 2013
The GMC helps to keep patients safe in the UK by making sure that doctors practise medicine safely and effectively. We do this by:
- setting standards for medical education and training and for medical practice
- making sure only those doctors who’ve shown they can meet our standards can practise medicine in the UK and keeping a publicly searchable register of these doctors
- making sure doctors continue to meet these standards throughout their careers and helping them to do so
- taking action when we receive information that a doctor isn’t meeting these standards, for example by removing their right to practise medicine in the UK.
Our top priority for 2013
In 2013, our biggest challenge is to introduce a new system of regular checks that doctors are keeping their knowledge and skills up to date and meeting the standards that we set.
We introduced this system, called revalidation, at the end of 2012 and in 2013 we expect to confirm that up to 50,000 of the UK’s doctors are up to date and fit to practise medicine.
Revalidation is the most comprehensive system of its kind in the world. It puts the UK at the forefront of making sure medical practice is of a high quality, that doctors are supported in their professional development and, most importantly, that patients can have confidence in the doctors they see.
Find out more about revalidation at: www.gmc-uk.org/revalidation
Defining good practice
We set the standards for doctors to work to in our guidance. Our core guidance is Good medical practice, which defines what it means to be a good doctor in the UK. But we also produce a range of more detailed guidance on issues as diverse as obtaining consent to treatment from children, and making decisions about end of life care.
In 2013, we will…
- Publish a new version of Good medical practice, which reflects changes in medical practice and new demands on healthcare. We’ve produced this with the input of doctors, patients and other key partners to make sure it reflects everyone’s needs and interests.
- Create a version of Good medical practice aimed specifically at patients to help them understand what they should expect from their doctor.
- Review our guidance on consent and care for children to make sure it keeps track with evolving best practice and patients’ needs.
Find out more about the guidance we produce at www.gmc-uk.org/guidance.
Acting if doctors aren’t meeting our standards
We have strong legal powers to act if a doctor doesn’t meet the standards that we set for medical practice in the UK. The number of complaints we receive about doctors has been rising significantly in recent years. Last year, we began an extensive programme of reforms to make sure the way we respond to issues about doctors’ fitness to practise is as effective and efficient as possible.
In 2013 we will…
- Continue to provide expert advice and support to employers dealing with doctors in difficulty.
- Continue to pilot ways to reduce the stress of being involved in a fitness to practise case including meetings with doctors and patients during an investigation to increase the speed and accuracy of our decision making.
- Continue to help doctors to raise concerns about patients’ safety through our confidential helpline, online tool and national survey of doctors in training.
- Review all of our fitness to practise processes to find ways we can improve our efficiency.
- Keep supporting the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) which we set up last year to increase confidence in the independence of decisions made about doctors’ fitness to practise at hearings.
- Share the insight our data on medical practice gives us about where there may be problems with medical practice or where particular groups of doctors may need more support to deliver safe, high quality care.
Find out more about our work in this area at www.gmc-uk.org/concerns.
Read last year’s report on the state of medical education and practice at www.gmc-uk.org/somep.
Meeting future needs and changing demands of doctors
As well as defining what makes a good doctor today, it is up to us to make sure that tomorrow’s doctors are prepared to meet the future demands of the health services, society and patients.
In 2013 we will…
- Launch a major programme of events on the future of medical professionalism.
- Contribute to the independent review of postgraduate medical training to make sure that UK doctors have the right knowledge and skills to meet patient needs in the years to come.
- Continue to make sure that the quality of medical education and training in the UK meets the standards that we set and review the way that we do this to make sure it’s as effective as possible.
- Use our annual survey of doctors in training to assess how satisfied they are with the education and support they receive and act on the findings.
- Use our data and that of others to identify risks and trends and take action ourselves or recommend changes to others based on this evidence.
- Work closely with patients, doctors, employers and others, respond to changing needs and continue to find ways to improve standards of medical practice and protect patients more effectively.
Find out more about the review of postgraduate medical education and training at www.shapeoftraining.co.uk.
Find out more about our work in education at www.gmc-uk.org/education.
Helping doctors to meet our standards
We want to make sure doctors are supported in delivering high quality care to their patients and in continuing to develop their knowledge and skills throughout their careers.
In 2013 we will…
- Work more closely at local level using our liaison teams across the UK to meet doctors, patients, educators and employers to listen to their views, promote our guidance and discuss how it can help doctors in front line practice.
- Publish new resources that bring our guidance to life.
- Pilot a new programme of induction training to help doctors new to UK practice to understand the standards expected of them.
- Work more closely with medical students to debate what medical professionalism means to them and to discuss the standards that will be expected of them as doctors.
Find out more about our work across the UK at www.gmc-uk.org/liaison.