Regulation and revalidation of doctors: Response from the General Medical Council

doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7562.303

BMJ 2006;333:303 (5 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7562.303

Letter

Regulation and revalidation of doctors

Response from the General Medical Council

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—The report from the chief medical officer for Englandhas implications for all UK doctors and needs to be consideredvery carefully.¹ Its aim is a system of medical regulation thatputs patients' safety first through the early detection, andwhere possible, remediation, of poor performance. If the reportcontributes to that aim, and commands public and professionalsupport, it should be welcomed by everyone involved in healthcare.

The Merrison report was the collective effort of Sir WilliamMerrison and the other 14 members of his committee of inquiry,who took both oral and written evidence.² A different processhas been followed in this case. The government, sensibly, hastherefore decided on a period of consultation during which therecommendations can be properly debated, tested, and costed.We have already said that we believe that the recommendationsto divorce oversight of medical education from the other regulatory. . . [Full text of this article]