Part 1: Introduction to the GMC's Publication Scheme

The General Medical Council

The General Medical Council (GMC) is the statutory body responsible for registering and regulating doctors in the United Kingdom. The GMC was first established in 1858 and today operates under the Medical Act 1983 and subsequent amendments and additions to it. We have strong and effective legal powers designed to maintain the standards that the public have a right to expect of doctors. We are not here to protect the medical profession - their interests are protected by others. Our job is to protect patients. The public trust doctors to set and monitor their own professional standards. In return doctors must give their patients high-quality medical care. Where any doctor fails to meet those standards, we act to protect patients from harm - if necessary, by striking the doctor off the register and removing their right to practise medicine. The GMC is a registered charity in England and Wales (1089278) and Scotland (SC037750) whose purpose is the protection, promotion and maintenance of the health and safety of the community.

Our four main responsibilities are:

  • To keep up to date the Register of qualified doctors, registered to work in the UK.
  • To encourage and foster good medical practise and to set standards.
  • To promote high standards of medical education.
  • To deal firmly and fairly with doctors whose fitness to practise medicine is in doubt.

Our Structure:

Our governing body, the Council, has 35 members:

  • 19 doctors elected by the doctors on the register
  • 14 members of the public appointed by the Privy Council
  • 2 doctors appointed by educational bodies - the universities and medical royal colleges

The GMC consists of five directorates:

  1. Standards and Fitness to Practise: responsible for giving advice to the profession, publishing guidance on standards of professional conduct and medical ethics, formulating GMC policy, investigating complaints about doctors and managing the case process through the Fitness to Practise procedures and committees.
  2. Education and Registration Reform: responsible for setting standards and outcomes for medical education and delivering registration reform such as implementing legislation and piloting any changes to operational procedures.
  3. Communications: responsible for internal and external communications and public affairs such as liaising with Parliament, government and other public bodies including devolved administrations.
  4. Registration and Resources: responsible for the processing of applications for medical registration including business improvement and planning. Resources manage the internal structures and procedures of the GMC and consists of Facilities, Information Systems, Human Resources, Procurement and Finance.
  5. Strategy and Planning: responsible for business and operational planning, policy development, co-ordinating research activity, information governance, supporting the work of the President and Chief Executive and managing the Council and its committees in the delivery of the GMC’s strategic duties.

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was passed on 30 November 2000. It gives a general right of access to information held by public authorities. It also sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities.

The Information Commissioner has a duty to promote best practise under the FOIA and to ensure compliance.  The Commissioner's address is:

The Office of the Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

You can read more about the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and your rights to information under our Freedom of Information section.

Purpose and Structure of the Scheme

The purpose of the Scheme is to let you know what information is readily available from us.  By ‘readily available' we mean information that is on our website, or that can be obtained from us by letter, fax or e-mail.

In creating and reviewing this Scheme, we have to consider the public interest when:

  • Allowing public access to the information we hold; and
  • Publicising the reasons for decisions that we make.

By law, our Scheme must:

  • Set out the classes of information that we publish or intend to publish;
  • Say how we will publish the information in each class; and
  • Say if we will provide the information free or charge for it.

The Scheme is in three parts:

  • Part 1 tells you about the Scheme
  • Part 2 sets out the classes or types of information that we publish or intend to publish.  It also contains a list of classes of information that will generally not be made available.
  • Part 3 is the Publications List, which tells you what information is published, how it can be obtained and whether it is free of charge

The Scheme is available on the GMC website: www.gmc-uk.org or from the GMC offices. 

Obtaining Information under the Scheme

The GMC routinely publishes large volumes of information on its website.  Most information provided in the scheme will be freely available for downloading from the website. Other information listed in this Scheme, which is not available from the website, will be available when requested in writing from the GMC offices.

Information listed under the Scheme may be requested by letter, fax or e-mail.

You should send your request for information contained in the Scheme to:

Freedom of Information
The General Medical Council
St. James's Buildings
79 Oxford Street
Manchester
M1 6FQ.

Tel: 020 7189 5453
Fax: 0845 357 9001
E-mail: foi@gmc-uk.org

We are committed to making this information available to all sections of the community.  At present the scheme is only available in English. However, this will be reviewed at intervals and the scheme will be translated into other languages if a need is identified.

Like most organisations, the GMC makes use of abbreviations in its documents and other records.  We try to make sure such abbreviations are kept to a minimum.  If necessary, we will provide an explanation of any abbreviations used.

Responsibility for the GMC Scheme

Overall responsibility for the Scheme rests with the Chief Executive. Day to day responsibility for the Scheme rests with the Information Policy Team and Information Access Team

The General Medical Council
St. Jame's Buildings
79 Oxford Street
Manchester
M1 6FQ.

Tel: 020 7189 5453
Fax: 0845 357 9001
E-mail: foi@gmc-uk.org

Charging for Information in the Scheme

Generally, access to information held by the GMC will be free of charge. Single copies of any publication listed in our publication list will normally be available free of charge from our website or from the GMC offices.

Charges may be imposed for:

  • Producing multiple copies of specified information in paper or other format
  • Specified hard copy publications

Charges will reflect the staff time necessary to produce the information and any copying and postage.  We will let you know these charges when you request the information and we will require payment in advance.

Copyright

Material made available through our scheme is subject to the laws of copyright. GMC information may be reproduced in accordance with The Copyright Act 1988 and within Copyright Licensing Agency guidelines. Where information is reproduced, it must be reproduced accurately, not used in a misleading context and an appropriate acknowledgement must be inserted.

Permission to reproduce material does not extend to any material accessed through the Scheme that is in the copyright of third parties.  You must obtain permission to reproduce such information from the copyright holder concerned.

Information made available under this Scheme must NOT be reproduced, copied or otherwise used for any commercial purposes.

Reviewing and Updating the Scheme

New material will be added to the publication scheme as it becomes available. The whole scheme has been approved by the Information Commissioner for a period of four years. However, the scheme will be reviewed and updated periodically by the GMC.

Tell us what you think

We are committed to expanding the amount of information in this Scheme and ensuring that you can find, request and receive the information easily. New information will be placed on the Scheme regularly. You will appreciate that reviewing and publishing material is in some cases a costly process and may take some time.

However, we will endeavour to ensure that our Scheme contains information that is of use to everyone interested in understanding more about the activities of the GMC. If you have any comments on this Scheme please write to the GMC Information Policy Manager at the address given above.

Requests for Personal Information

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 (“the DPA”), you already have a statutory right to have access to personal data we hold about you on computer or in a structured manual file (i.e. on paper).  You also have the right to expect the GMC, as the Data Controller, to ensure that data is:

  • Processed fairly and lawfully
  • Obtained for specific and lawful purposes
  • Adequate, relevant and not excessive for that purpose
  • Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date
  • Not kept for longer than is necessary
  • Processed in accordance with your rights as the data subject
  • Kept secure
  • Not transferred abroad unless to countries with adequate data protection laws

You can find out more about the Data Protection Act 1998 and your rights in relation to personal information under our Data Protection section.

Complaints about the Scheme

If you have a complaint about the operation of the Scheme:

  • Write to the Information Policy Manager at the GMC offices seeking resolution of your complaint
  • If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, you may write to the Information Commissioner, who is appointed to consider such complaints at the address shown above.

If you have any further comments or complaints about information requests or how we carry out our duties please follow our GMC comments and Complaints procedures for subject access and information requests.