The purpose of Good medical practice
Good medical practice is a framework of professional standards to guide you when you’re caring for patients and working with colleagues. The standards describe good practice, but they aren’t a set of rules. You should apply them using your judgement, in the specific circumstances you face.
In response to feedback in our consultation, the updated Good medical practice also includes a detailed explanation about how the standards relate to fitness to practise procedures.
If a concern is raised with us, we will always consider the individual circumstances and take into account any relevant factors known to us, such as:
- how serious the concern is. This includes looking at the extent of the doctor’s, physician associate's and anaesthesia associate's departure from the standards, whether the behaviour is premeditated, whether the concern involves abuse of power, and whether the behaviour or concern relates to an isolated incident or has been repeated.
- systems and interpersonal factors in the doctor’s, physician associate's and anaesthesia associate's working environment and their role and level of experience
- how the doctor, physician associate or anaesthesia associate responded to the concern, including whether they’ve shown insight and if there is evidence of remediation.
Read more about our fitness to practise procedures and the support available to doctors and physician associates and anaesthesia associates.
