Our memoranda of understanding

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health care and adult social care services in England.

The working relationship between the CQC and GMC is part of the maintenance of a regulatory system for health and adult social care in England which promotes patient safety and high-quality healthcare.

Areas of information sharing include:

• cross referral of concerns
• revalidation
• guidance and advice
• joint communications

Our agreement started in October 2025.

Department of Health and Social Care

The Department of Health and Social Care are responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England. They support ministers in leading the nation’s health and social care to help people live more independent, healthier lives for longer.

DHSC is a ministerial department, supported by 24 agencies and public bodies.

The purpose of the agreement is to support revalidation.

Areas of information sharing include:

• doctor demographic data and workplace
• evidence of doctors’ employment locations & roles to support revalidation
• list of employment locations for doctors currently employed within the NHS to assist with the analysis of FTP issues
• workplace contact information for all doctors employed in the NHS to notify them about changes to regulatory process.

Our agreement started November 2011.

Department of Health and Social Care – Williams’ review

Investigating healthcare incidents where suspected criminal activity may have contributed to death or serious life-changing harm.

This MoU aims to:

• facilitate efficient and effective coordination of appropriate approaches, patient safety learning responses and investigations, while taking steps to avoid prejudicing regulatory or criminal investigations or criminal proceedings
• ensure relevant information and confidential information is quickly, lawfully and efficiently shared between the relevant signatories where necessary to progress learning responses, investigations and proceedings
• ensure evidence is quickly identified, secured and handled in accordance with best practice
• allow steps to be taken quickly to manage ongoing risk and as far as possible protect the public and service users.

Multiple regulators, investigatory and prosecutorial bodies (England) are signatories to the agreement. 

Signatories: Department of Health and Social Care, Care Quality Commission, Crown Prosecution Service, Health and Safety Executive, National Police Chiefs’ Council, NHS England, Nursing and Midwifery Council, General Dental Council, Health and Care Professions Council, General Pharmaceutical Council, General Optical Council, General Chiropractic Council and General Osteopathic Council.

This agreement started in December 2024. 

Forensic Science Regulator

The Forensic Science Regulator (FSR) ensures that the provision of forensic science services across the criminal justice system is subject to an appropriate regime of scientific quality standards.

Responsibilities involve:

• identifying the requirement for new or improved quality standards
• leading on the development of new standards
• providing advice and guidance so that providers of forensic science services can demonstrate compliance with common standards.

Areas of information sharing include:

• cross referral of concerns
• seeking and giving advice
• training and guidance
• joint communications

Our agreement began in March 2024 and was renewed in April 2025.

Health Education and Improvement Wales

Health Education and Improvement Wales is a Special Health Authority that provides education and training services for health care professionals.

The purpose of the agreement is to support the collaboration between HEIW and the GMC to improve the quality of healthcare through raising standards and promoting professional development. Information shared about trends, concerns, data, approaches and initiatives, which are relevant to the shared aim of improving the quality of healthcare through raising standards and promoting professional development.

Investigations it conducts which raise significant issues about professional development in the NHS in Wales, including failures in systems of information, appraisal and review and, in appropriate cases, will disclose to HEIW information about individual medical practitioners. 

Areas of information sharing include:

• the health and wellbeing of the public, particularly in relation to individual practitioners’ fitness to practice, the suitability of medical departments as a training environment and the medical leadership of health boards
• any concerns and relevant information about a healthcare organisation or a part of that organisation which may call into question its suitability as a learning environment for medical students or doctors in training
• any concerns and relevant information about a healthcare organisation which may call into question the robustness of systems for postgraduate training, medical appraisal and clinical governance or compliance with the Medical Professions (Responsible Officer) Regulations 2010.

Our agreement started in June 2014 and was reviewed and renewed in November 2022.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS)

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, PA or AA’s fitness to practise
• revalidation
• the training environment for medical students, doctors, PAs and AAs.

Our agreement started in February 2015 and was most recently renewed in September 2025.

Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW)

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
• 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 and was renewed in March 2025.

Jersey Care Commission

The Jersey Care Commission regulates and inspects services for both adults and children, provided by the Government of Jersey, Parishes, private providers and the voluntary sector to ensure that people receive high quality and safe care. The services they regulate include, but will not be limited to, care homes providing nursing and personal care or personal support for people with a range of health and social care needs, care provided to people in their own homes, adult day care services and residential and other services for children and young people. 

Areas of information sharing include:

• cross referral of concerns
• revalidation
• guidance and advice
• joint communications

Our agreement began in February 2024 and was renewed in October 2025.

Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland 

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (MWCS) is a non-departmental public body, responsible for safeguarding the rights and welfare of people in Scotland with a learning disability, mental illness or other mental disorder. They protect and promote the human rights of people with mental illness, learning disabilities, dementia and related conditions.

The purpose of the agreement is to allow the sharing of information where either MWCS or the GMC identifies concerns about the health and wellbeing of the public, particularly in relation to individual practitioners’ fitness to practice, the suitability of medical departments as a training environment and the medical leadership of health boards. 

Areas of information sharing include:

• concerns about leadership, delivery and quality of clinical governance
• revalidation and identifying and responding to concerns.

Our agreement started in April 2023.

NHS Practitioner Health Programme

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.

Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA) is an Arm’s Length Body sponsored by the Department of Health (DoH) to train postgraduate medical and dental professionals for Northern Ireland.

NIMDTA also seeks to serve the government, public and patients of Northern Ireland by providing specialist advice, listening to local needs and having the agility to respond to regional and national requirements.

Areas of information sharing include:

• communication of concerns
• seeking and giving advice
• training and guidance
• revalidation.

Our agreement began in March 2026.

Public services Ombudsman for Wales

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 and was renewed in March 2025.

The Health and Safety Executive

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.

Our agreement started in January 2007 and was reviewed and renewed in July 2022.

The Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP)

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.

The purpose of this agreement is to set out a framework between the GMC and JCCP to ensure that effective channels of communication and information sharing are established and maintained between the GMC and the JCCP, to promote patient safety and high-quality services for patients receiving non-surgical aesthetic treatments (including hair restoration surgery).

Areas of information sharing include:

• patient safety
• fitness to practise. 

Our agreement started in March 2018 and was renewed in February 2026.

The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority

The working relationship between the The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (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.

Our agreement is to share information around concerns or information about a healthcare organisation where doctors practise or are trained, any concerns or information about a doctor which may call into question their fitness to practise. Any concerns or information about an organisation that may call into question their suitability as a learning environment for medical students or doctors in training.

Areas of information sharing include:

• cross-referral of concerns
• revalidation for doctors
• exchange of information
• telemedicine.

Our agreement started in January 2014 and was reviewed and renewed in October 2021.

Care Quality Commission

The 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. 

Our agreement allows us to provide information for CQC inspection activity such as NTS data, a monthly summary on enhanced monitoring with CQC and a monthly decision circular to CQC. The CQC shares a weekly output covering the most recent judgements, concerns about an individual doctor’s fitness to practise or an individual doctor’s registration and revalidation and concerns about the quality of education, systems or environment.

Areas of information sharing include:

• cross referral of concerns
• approved practice settings
• revalidation of doctors.

Our agreement started in May 2010 and was reviewed and renewed in June 2020.

Emerging Concerns Protocol

The Emerging concerns protocol (ECP) is an agreement to provide a clearly defined mechanism for organisations with a role in the quality and safety of care provision to share information that may indicate risks to people who use services, their carers, families or professionals.

Signatories: Care Quality Commission, General Dental Council, General Medical Council, General Pharmaceutical Council, Health and Care Professions Council, Health Education England, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Nursing and Midwifery Council, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

Areas of information sharing include:

• concerns about individual or groups of professionals
• concerns about healthcare systems and the healthcare environment (including the learning environments of professionals)
• concerns that might have an impact on trust and confidence in professionals or the professions overall.

Our agreement started in June 2021 and was reviewed and renewed in January 2023.