Fitness to practise statistics and reports
Every year, we publish a report on the concerns we receive about doctors’ fitness to practise.
By fitness to practise, we mean a doctor’s ability to practise safely and maintain public confidence in their profession.
Darllenwch y dudalen hon yn Gymraeg
Fitness to practise investigations involve a small proportion of doctors each year, where there are serious concerns about patient safety or public confidence.
This year’s report has greater context, clarity and transparency about how we assess concerns.
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A message from our Chief Executive
Public confidence in doctors is built on millions of interactions that take place with patients every day.
The vast majority of those interactions are safe, supportive and professional. When concerns do arise, our role is to make sure they are assessed fairly, consistently and independently.
This report presents data on how concerns about doctors' fitness to practise were handled in 2025. For the first time this year, we've included additional information about how our processes work, and importantly, about how we support everyone involved in an investigation.
Behind the statistics in this report are people whose lives will be affected by the decisions we make. We understand that both raising and responding to concerns can be a difficult experience, with far-reaching consequences for patients and their families, as well as for doctors and their colleagues. We are committed to handling every case with compassion, clarity and fairness, and I hope this report will help people feel informed and confident if they ever need to engage with the fitness to practise process.
I welcome your feedback on the report and what you would like to see included next year.
Charlie Massey, Chief Executive.
A message from our Director of Fitness to Practise
Over more than two decades at the GMC, I’ve seen that public confidence in doctors depends on the standards they uphold every day, as well as a regulatory system that acts fairly and decisively when serious concerns arise.
As you will see in the report, the number of concerns raised with us has increased in recent years. This is mainly because more concerns are being raised by members of the public.
However, it’s important to remember that only a small proportion of doctors have concerns raised about them. And of those we receive, the majority don’t meet the legal threshold for further investigation. Where a concern doesn’t meet the threshold, this doesn’t mean that no action is required. Instead, it may be more appropriate for this to be dealt with by the doctor’s employer or another organisation.
We have a responsibility to assess fitness to practise concerns with great care and consistency, while also showing compassion to everybody involved.
Being open about our processes is a key part of helping people understand our role and how we make decisions, and this report is intended to support that.
Anthony Omo, Director of Fitness to Practise.
Support
Raising concerns and going through an investigation can be daunting for everyone involved. That's why we provide information, guidance and access to emotional support.
The statistics in this report relate to concerns raised about doctors. As we have only been regulating PAs and AAs since December 2024, the number of concerns raised about them was very low in 2025, and publishing the figures could risk identifying the people involved. As a result, we can’t publish data about PAs and AAs at this stage.
Archived doctors’ fitness to practise annual statistics
2009 — 2024
