The General Medical Council Health Committee (Procedure) (Amendment) Rules Order of Council 1996

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

The rules approved by this Order amend the General Medical Council Health Committee (Procedure) Rules 1987 (appended to S.I. 1987/2174). They give effect to the provisions brought into force by the Medical (Professional Performance) Act 1995 (Commencement No. 1) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/271 (c.5)) relating to the powers of the General Medical Council, through its appropriate committees—

(a) to permit interim orders for suspension or conditional registration to be made for an initial period of six months rather than the original two months, and to make further interim orders for periods of up to three months at a time; and

(b) to make an order for indefinite suspension in circumstances where the doctor’s fitness to practise is judged by the General Medical Council’s Health Committee to be seriously impaired by reason of his physical or mental condition and where the doctor concerned has already been suspended for at least two years.

The amended rules also update the definition of “persons in a public capacity”who may refer cases to the General Medical Council, reflecting changes to the structure of the National Health Service.