All doctors who practise medicine in the UK must be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC).
The purpose of the GMC is to protect patients by maintaining high standards within the medical profession. Their position in setting educational standards has been strengthened by the planned merger with PMETB (Postgraduate Medical and Education Training Board).
The Fitness to Practise Directorate of the GMC has the power to look at the conduct, performance and/or health of a doctor if they feel there are any complaints or concerns that may affect their fitness to practice. They can look outside matters concerning their clinical practice if they feel this has the potential to undermine public trust and confidence in the medical profession.
What the GMC does, and the way in which it carries out its functions, are set out in law. The main piece of legislation is the Medical Act 1983 (as amended) which sets out the powers of the GMC and which deals with issues such as registration, fitness to practice, medical ethics and penalties. Further details of this can be found on the GMC web site.
The GMC has four main functions:
In addition to the Medical Act, the GMC is also subject to certain European legisaltion, in particular Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications which sets out the GMC’s obligations for recognising medical qualifications of doctors from within the European Economic Area (EEA). This can be found on the EU’s Europa web site. The relevant parts of the legislation transposing this Directive into UK statutory regulations are now set out in the Medical Act
