Doctors at risk of erasure from medical register under GMC plans

UK doctors found guilty of professional misconduct, who can now avoid being struck off the medical register by demonstrating that they are no longer a threat to the public, could be at greater risk of erasure under draft government legislation.

The proposed change comes in a draft order under section 60 of the Health Act 1999 aimed at enabling the General Medical Council to take “swifter, more proportionate and effective action to ensure public protection” and reforming the GMC’s “outdated” legislative framework.1

“Currently medical professionals who are subject to regulatory action can avoid serious sanctions in certain cases by demonstrating that they have learnt from their mistakes and are no longer a threat to public safety,” says …