The General Medical Council Fitness to Practise Committees and Review Board for Overseas Qualified Practitioners (Amendment) Rules Order of Council 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

The Regulations approved by this Order make amendments to the General Medical Council Preliminary Proceedings Committee and Professional Conduct Committee (Procedure) Rules 1988 (“the Conduct Rules”), the General Medical Council Health Committee (Procedure) Rules 1987 (“the Health Rules”), the General Medical Council (Professional Performance) Rules 1997 (“the Performance Rules”) and the General Medical Council (Review Board for Overseas Qualified Practitioners) Rules 1978 (“the Review Board Rules”), which were all made by the General Medical Council (“GMC”) and relate to the composition and procedures of the GMC’s statutory committees.

The Conduct Rules are amended so that the Preliminary Proceedings Committee, rather than its Chairman, will have the power to confirm or reverse a provisional determination that a reference be made to the Professional Conduct Committee of the GMC (rule 2(b)), so that the views of complainants are to be taken into account before a decision is taken by the Preliminary Proceedings Committee that an inquiry should not be held (rule 2(c)), and so that Deputy Chairmen may stand in for the Chairman of the Preliminary Proceedings Committee (rule 2(d)). The Conduct Rules are also updated with consequential amendments arising out of the General Medical Council (Voluntary Erasure and Restoration following Voluntary Erasure) Regulations 2003 and the General Medical Council (Restoration and Fees Amendment) Regulations 2003. Parallel changes are made to the Health Rules and the Performance Rules (rules 3 and 4).

The Review Board Rules are updated so that the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans of the United Kingdom, rather than the Council for Postgraduate Medical Education in England and Wales, the Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical Education, and the Northern Ireland Council for Postgraduate Medical Education, has a formal role in recommending appointments to the Review Board for Overseas Qualified Practitioners, and to reflect the fact that earlier consideration of cases will have been by a committee of the GMC rather than by the GMC. The composition of the Board is changed: none of the members now need be members of the GMC, and consequential changes are made to reflect this (rule 5(a) to (d)). In addition, rule 5(e) amends the Review Board Rules to provide an applicant with a right to request an oral hearing in any circumstances, and consequential changes are again made to reflect this (rule 5(f) and (g)).