Is the General Medical Council in need of revalidation?

Abstract

The General Medical Council was originally set up to 'protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public'. In 2012, the Privy Council instructed the General Medical Council to set up and run a licensing and revalidation system for all practicing doctors in the UK, to protect patients from actions of medical staff. Despite this mandate, the General Medical Council has been a bystander in a series of regulatory failures. Without these episodes having been highlighted by family members, public investigations would not have been carried out. The maintenance of medical performance is delegated to NHS employers, which could cause conflicts of interests when employers have to investigate doctors as part of a team. The other responsibility of the General Medical Council is to monitor teaching standards and curricula of medical schools in the UK, which it does by eliciting feedback from students and trainees. The General Medical Council has not responded to 'new ways of working' (especially in England) involving non-medical staff undertaking tasks previously carried out by doctors. Furthermore, the General Medical Council has not updated its description of the role of the future doctor in light of increasing use of technology, use or non-use of which could both be considered to be evidence of poor practice.