GMC Representation
GMC / MPTS Legal Representation of Doctors, AAs and PAs
Do you seek GMC Representation?
We represent and advise medical doctors (Registered Medical Practitioners) and Registered Physician Associates at the GMC/MPTS in the following specialist areas of GMC law.
Doctors Defence Service provides GMC representation for doctors throughout the UK, including doctors based in London. Our experienced lawyers and barristers advise doctors at different stages of the GMC process, from provisional enquiries and investigations through to fitness to practise hearings, interim orders and appeals.
GMC Provisional Enquiries of Doctors: What is the process?
GMC Provisional Enquiries are a precursor to a full investigation, a kind of preliminary enquiry. Many cases are closed at this stage of scrutiny if the right evidence is presented to the GMC. Doctors at this stage should therefore take careful steps to provide evidence to the GMC that explains the history of events from the doctor’s perspective.
A lot can be done at the preliminary enquiry stage. A lawyer for a GMC referral can advise a doctor on the issues raised and the evidence that may be relevant when responding. For more information about the steps that can be taken at this stage, see our GMC Provisional Enquiry Procedure page.
Doctors Defence Service provides GMC advice to doctors across the UK, including those seeking assistance through our London office.
GMC Investigations of Doctors: How do they operate?
GMC Investigations into allegations of impaired fitness to practise have become numerous in the last few years. Not all cases proceed to the fitness to practise (FTP) stage, and doctors who are proactive in responding to allegations in a constructive way usually fare better than those who “wait and see”.
Doctors Defence Service lawyers can assist doctors with written submissions in response to GMC Rule 4 letters and GMC Rule 7 letters, and can advise on the evidence that should be obtained and submitted to the GMC Case Examiners. Our GMC investigation legal advice is available to doctors who require assistance understanding and responding to the allegations made against them. An experienced GMC defence lawyer can also advise on how a doctor’s response at the investigation stage may affect the subsequent course of proceedings.
For more information on the legal assistance we can provide and for more details about the GMC investigatory processes, see our GMC Investigations page. We assist doctors in responding to GMC allegations at the Rule 4 and Rule 7 stages of GMC proceedings.
GMC Fitness to Practise Hearings for Doctors: How do they work?
GMC Fitness to Practise (FTP) Hearings / Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) hearings are now held in Manchester. Doctors Defence Service lawyers represent doctors who practise anywhere in the UK, at any fitness to practise hearing before a Medical Practitioners Tribunal (MPT).
Our GMC fitness to practise representation includes advice and representation for doctors preparing for proceedings and appearing before the tribunal. Where a case proceeds to a hearing, a doctor may require GMC FTP hearing representation from a barrister with experience of GMC and MPTS proceedings.
Doctors based in London and elsewhere across the UK can arrange consultations with our lawyers, with many consultations now held by videoconference.
To read more about our legal defence services in fitness to practise law, view our GMC / MPTS (MPT) FTP Representation page. We represent doctors in fitness to practise hearings.
GMC Interim Orders Hearings and Doctors: How does the hearing process work?
GMC Interim Orders Tribunal (IOT) Hearings are held where the GMC has received information that a doctor’s fitness to practise may be impaired and where the doctor’s continuing unrestricted practice may not be in the public interest, on grounds of public safety, public confidence, or in the doctor’s interest.
The GMC / MPTS IOT panel may impose conditions of practice on a doctor, or suspend the doctor from the register. Doctors Defence Service provides legal advice and legal representation to doctors who are facing GMC / MPTS interim orders hearings.
A doctor seeking a GMC Interim Orders Tribunal lawyer can obtain advice about the hearing and representation before the tribunal. Our barristers provide this assistance to doctors throughout the UK, including doctors practising in London.
To read more about our legal defence services in IOT matters, see our GMC / MPTS IOT Representation page. We represent doctors in fitness to practise hearings.
GMC Extensions of a Doctor’s Interim Order: What is the process?
GMC applications to the High Court, or Court of Session, to extend interim orders are made at the expiry of the initial interim order, usually between 12 and 18 months. A doctor can consent to the extension or oppose it. For more information, see our GMC Applications to Extend Interim Orders page. We represent doctors in GMC extension applications.
GMC Non-Compliance Hearings: How does the GMC sanction a doctor who refuses to participate in an assessment?
GMC Non-Compliance Hearings are held when the GMC believes that a doctor is unwilling to undertake a performance assessment, health assessment or language assessment, or where a doctor has not properly engaged with the assessment process itself, having agreed to undergo one.
The panel can impose interim conditions or an interim suspension on the doctor where the doctor refuses to agree to a full assessment. For more information, see our GMC Non-Compliance Hearings page. We represent doctors in non-compliance hearings.
GMC Restoration Hearings: How does a doctor apply to be registered again?
Restorations to the GMC Register: Doctors may apply for restoration to the register after their registration has lapsed or after the minimum statutory period following erasure. See our GMC Restorations page for more information. We represent doctors in restoration applications.
GMC Registration Applications and Appeals Representation
GMC Registration Applications are generally made by newly qualified doctors as part of the deanery educational process, and also by doctors who have trained overseas. Some overseas doctors may be highly experienced, highly trained individuals, while others may be fairly junior with only a short period of experience under their belt.
Our registration law lawyers regularly advise and represent doctors who wish to register with the General Medical Council (GMC) in the UK. View our Registrations Law page for more information about our GMC registration law representation services. We represent doctors in registration applications and appeals.
Revalidation Advice and Support
Revalidation Legal Advice and Appeals from Licensing Decisions: Revalidation is straightforward for many doctors who have had the right support and guidance from their employers or colleges, but for a significant number, the process has been problematic. There have been problems in identifying a suitable Responsible Officer, or in arranging appraisals, or the Registrar has decided to cancel the licence, leading to a long appeal process. For more information, see our page on Revalidation for Doctors.
Appeals: How do they work?
Appeals from GMC and MPTS Decisions: Doctors can appeal certain decisions of the GMC. The Appeal Notice must be served within 28 days of the decision appealed, if it relates to a fitness to practise process.
The court can allow or dismiss the appeal. The court can substitute decisions or remit for the case to be reheard at a particular stage, and award costs to the GMC or a doctor. A doctor can also appeal an interim order.
In some instances, where there is no statutory right of appeal the alternative procedure of judicial review might be adopted in pursuance of quashing a GMC decision. See our page on Appeals for more information. We advise and represent doctors on appeal or in judicial reviews (JRs).
GMC Guidance
The GMC provides a summary guide to each of the rules of principles which govern the GMC’s legal process: GMC Guide.
Does the GMC protect doctors?
In a footnote to editors accompanying Chief Executive Niall Dickson’s 2016 letter to the Daily Mail, the GMC asserted:
“We are not here to protect doctors — their interests are protected by others. Our job is to protect the public.”
It is clear from that quote that the GMC is not there to protect doctors in any circumstances. Doctors would therefore be mistaken to believe that the GMC will be of much assistance to them when responding to concerns. The GMC is there to bring proceedings against doctors to protect the public and uphold confidence in the profession, as well as to raise standards.
In the case of Udom v General Medical Council [2009] EWHC 3242 (Admin), in relation to the statutory scheme/regime operated by the GMC, it was held (at para 33) that:
“The focus of this regime is not paternalism for doctors, but rather for the protection of the public and the integrity of the profession.”
(02 December 2009)
By contrast, Doctors Defence Service (DDS) is here to help doctors who are facing GMC proceedings. DDS has helped and advised many hundreds of doctors over the years. Doctors Defence Service is an organisation that aims to protect the various interests of UK doctors.
GMC Representation
DDS Representation is provided by medico-legal advisers who are lawyers (qualified barristers). Some of our lawyers are also clinically qualified, which is of particular assistance where a doctor is facing allegations that touch on clinical practice. Representation can be provided to doctors at all grades, in all general and specialist areas of medicine. The lawyers at Doctors Defence Service have represented many hundreds of doctors of all grades in GMC / MPTS cases over the last decade. Doctors Defence Service lawyers can arrange to see a doctor anywhere in the UK, at a time to fit in with the doctor’s busy schedule. Doctors in London can access our services through our London office, while many consultations are now held by videoconference. Doctors Defence Service is a division of Trident Chambers.
Our GMC representation covers the different stages at which a doctor may require legal assistance, including investigations, fitness to practise proceedings and interim orders. Doctors looking for a GMC defence lawyer can discuss their circumstances with an experienced DDS barrister in confidence.
Doctors looking for a trusted lawyer should consider the qualifications, regulatory status and relevant GMC experience of the individual they intend to instruct. DDS medico-legal advisers are qualified barristers, and some are also clinically qualified. Rather than relying on a broad description such as certified, doctors can consider the individual lawyer’s qualifications and experience in the relevant area of GMC law.
Where appropriate, our lawyers can provide expert legal advice on the regulatory issues arising from a doctor’s case. DDS is not a firm of solicitors, and its representation is provided by qualified barristers in independent practice. Whether a doctor requires assistance from a lawyer for a GMC referral at an early stage, GMC investigation legal advice, or representation at an MPTS hearing, DDS can provide advice and representation according to the stage the proceedings have reached.
To discuss Doctors Defence Service representation in any type of GMC proceedings, call us in confidence on: 0800 10 88 739
GMC Law / MPTS Law Defence Lawyers