GMC criticised for not making transitional arrangements when changing rules on distance learning

The Court of Appeal has ordered the General Medical Council (GMC) to recognise the medical qualification of a UK based graduate who obtained his qualification mainly by distance learning from a university in the Caribbean.

Three judges—headed by the master of the rolls, the second most senior judge in England and Wales—ruled that 54 year old Patel, who had previously worked as a pharmacist, had a legitimate expectation that his MB BS from the International University of Health Sciences (IUHS) in St Kitts would be recognised.

They overturned a High Court ruling that the GMC was entitled to refuse him recognition following a rule change part way through his course that programmes …