Our memoranda of understanding
A memorandum of understanding is a statement agreed by two or more organisations that commits them to working closely together to support each other’s goals.
We have a number of these agreements in place with organisations across the UK – including system regulators, public protection bodies, NHS agencies and others – to share knowledge. You can see our agreements listed below.
You can request more information by emailing partnerships@gmc-uk.org.
Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health care and adult social care services in England. They also protect the interests of people whose rights are restricted under the Mental Health Act.
Areas of information sharing include:
- cross referral of concerns
- approved practice settings
- revalidation of doctors.
Our agreement started in January 2013.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is the national healthcare improvement organisation for Scotland and part of NHS Scotland. Our working relationship supports the maintenance of a regulatory system for healthcare in Scotland. It also promotes patient safety and delivers quality healthcare.
Areas of information sharing include:
- information collected through monitoring of designated bodies and local education providers
- concerns about an organisation’s clinical, quality and educational governance
- concerns that relate to a particular doctor’s fitness to practise
- medical revalidation
- the training environment for medical students and doctors.
Our agreement started in March 2015.
Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) is the regulator of healthcare in Wales. Our working relationship supports the maintenance of a regulatory system for healthcare in Wales. It also promotes patient safety and high quality healthcare.
Areas of information sharing include:
- cross-referral of concerns
- revalidation for doctors
- exchange of information
- Wales Concordat
- telemedicine.
Both organisations are also members of the Welsh Concordat, which supports the improvement of services for patients, service users and carers in Wales.
Our agreement started in June 2014.
The Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners are self-regulators of the non-surgical aesthetic industry in the UK and the point of access for the public seeking information about this area of practice and where appropriate for raising concerns about practitioners.
Areas of information sharing include:
- patient safety
- fitness to practise.
Read our full memorandum of understanding commitment
Our agreement started in April 2018.
NHS Counter Fraud Service (CFS), now NHS Protect, leads on work to identify and tackle crime across the health service. The aim is to protect NHS staff and resources from activities that would otherwise undermine their effectiveness and their ability to meet the needs of patients and professionals. Ultimately, this helps to ensure the proper use of valuable NHS resources and a safer, more secure environment in which to deliver and receive care.
Areas of information sharing include:
- sharing of expertise and experience in the development of investigative methodologies
- discussions about the strategy or policy of each organisation aimed at increasing the effectiveness of communication between them
- discussions about individual doctors, where one or both.
Our agreement started in March 2005, and was reviewed in March 2015.
The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) scheme was designated under the Higher Education Act 2004, which established this independent scheme to adjudicate on student complaints against universities in England and Wales, without charge to complainants. The OIA became designated operator of the student complaints scheme in January 2005.
The OIA contributes to high quality student experience in England and Wales by promoting good practice openness and transparency. The OIA and ourselves will share, proactively and on request, information that supports the other to carry out their key functions.
Areas of information sharing include:
- information relevant to concerns about standards and quality in complaints considered by the OIA
- information we have that may assist OIA in undertaking a review of complaints by individual students or groups of students
- information we have about systemic issues which may assist the OIA in undertaking a review of complaints
- summary information gathered through OIA scheme which identifies broad themes and concerns about quality and standards from across the sector or individual institutions
- information that OIA has that may assist us in regulation.
Our agreement started in November 2014, and was reviewed in May 2019.
Public services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) has legal powers to look into complaints about public services and independent care providers in Wales.
Areas of information sharing include:
- Any information which PSOW considers necessary, for the health or safety of patients and the public, to share with the GMC for the purposes of an investigation
- Complaints that were made to PSOW but which may be better dealt with by the GMC and information related to such complaints, where the person making the complaint has consented to the complaint and related information being shared with the GMC.
- Any information which indicates a person is likely to be a threat to the health or safety of patients
Our agreement started in December 2019.
Areas of information sharing include:
- Medical Schools Council provides the Evidence Team with outcomes from Prescribing Skills Assessment (PSA) exam.
- The British Pharmacological Society demonstrate that new doctors have the necessary competencies to begin prescribing independently.
- Data is used by the GMC to report on the progression updates of doctors and show how doctors are performing in exams.
Our agreement was last reviewed in September 2020.
Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) is an independent organisation aiming to improve patient safety through investigation into NHS funded care across England. Our agreement exists to detail how we support their independent investigations.
Areas of information sharing include:
- Discussion about how best to manage concerns about a doctor
- Concerns about an individual doctor either at the point of referral or after.
- Sharing method development, policies and procedures in relation to the assessment and supervision of doctors who are unwell
- Communications and educational initiatives
- Evaluation and research
- Access to specialist expertise
Our agreement started in March 2019.
Agreements under review
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for enforcing the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. (HSWA) 1974 throughout Great Britain. Its job is to ‘prevent people being killed, injured or made ill by work’.
The HSWA sets out general duties which employers, the self-employed, and people in control of premises have towards their employees and others who could be affected by the work activities.
Collaborative working between the HSE and ourselves falls into two areas:
- the exchange of information
- communication and liaison.
The following areas are covered in the agreement:
- referral of matters of concern
- us informing HSE of concerns
- HSE informing us of concerns about individual doctors
- communication and liaison arrangements
- investigations and inquiries relevant to both bodies' functions
- data protection provisions.
This agreement has been in place since December 2012.
The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) for Health and Social Care oversees statutory bodies that regulate health and social care professionals in the UK. They assess their performance, conduct audits, scrutinise their decisions and report to Parliament. They also set standards for organisations holding voluntary registers for health and social care occupations and accredit those that meet them. They were previously known as the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE).
Areas of information sharing include:
- notices of GMC fitness to practise hearings
- notification of cases scheduled for GMC fitness to practise hearings
- GMC fitness to practise hearing determinations
- post-hearing correspondence
- GMC fitness to practise hearing transcripts
- GMC fitness to practise hearing exhibits.
Our agreement started in July 2014.
The NHS Practitioner Health provides advice, assessment and case management services for doctors with health concerns that relate to a mental health or addiction problem or a physical health problem which may impact on the doctor’s performance. Doctors approaching the PHP have the same rights to confidentiality as any other patient.
Communication between the NHS Practitioner Health and ourselves is based on an overriding duty to protect patients, while, protecting confidential health information about individual doctors.
Areas of information sharing include:
- discussions about how best to manage concerns about a doctor, point of referral or post-referral to either organisation
- sharing method development, policies and procedures in relation to the assessment and supervision of doctors who are unwell
- communications and educational initiatives
- evaluation and research
- access to specialist expertise.
Our agreement started in December 2004, and was reviewed in June 2014.
The working relationship between the RQIA and ourselves is part of the maintenance of a regulatory system for health and social care in Northern Ireland which promotes patient safety and high quality healthcare. RQIA is the regulator of health and social care in Northern Ireland.
Areas of information sharing include:
- cross-referral of concerns
- revalidation for doctors
- exchange of information
- telemedicine.
Our agreement started in January 2015.
