News: Rise in number of fitness to practise hearings

02 June 2010

New statistics reveal an increase in hearings but the reason remains unclear

The number of fitness to practise hearings held in 2009 rose by 32% from 2008. The reason for the increase is the subject of further research, but it is believed to be related to the simultaneous increase in the number of enquiries made from the NHS, police and other public authorities, which has risen by 160% since 2006.

The statistics are part of the GMC’s annual report on the number of complaints received about doctors and how those complaints are dealt with at each stage of the fitness to practise procedures. For the first time, the report for 2009 is supplemented by a series of factsheets on key themes including ethnicity, gender, time since qualification, area of practice and recorded allegations. The report and factsheets are available on the GMC website at www.gmc-org/news.

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