General Medical Council

General Medical Council ; (GMC)
legal form	Charity under Anglo-Welsh law (No. 1089278) and under Scottish law (No. SC037750)
founding	1858
Seat	Regent's Place; 350 Euston Road; London NW1 3JN
Office	London , Manchester , Belfast , Cardiff and Edinburgh
purpose	Protecting patients by establishing and monitoring the training and practice of doctors
method	Admission based on verified entry requirements; Revalidation;
Action space	Great Britain
Managing directors	Charlie Massey (Chief Executive and Registrar)
sales	GBP 110m (2018)
Employees	1233
Members	approx. 250,000 doctors in Great Britain (2018)
Website	https://www.gmc-uk.org/

The General Medical Council ( GMC ) is an independent body that oversees doctors in the United Kingdom , much like a medical association . The GMC keeps the register of doctors and supervises the training and further education of doctors. The basis for the activity is the Medical Act (~ Medical Law).

history

Prior to the establishment of the General Medical Council by the Medical Act , 1858, there were nineteen different bodies that licensed physicians. Even the Archbishop of Canterbury had the right to license doctors . In 1841 about 1/3 of all doctors were active without adequate training. On top of that, titles were only valid locally, i. H. a doctor in Glasgow was no longer a doctor in London, since his title and training were irrelevant here.

In 1858 the General Council of Medical Education and Registration of the United Kingdom was founded, today's GMC. The task was to create a central register of doctors, regulate the training of doctors and introduce standards, as well as the publication of a pharmacopoeia ( pharmacopoeia ). The first register was not published until half a year after the end of 1858 because so many people did not try to get it until late in the year. In 1860 Richard Organ was the first to be removed from the list due to a lack of qualification. In 1899, the first hearing was held in which a doctor was accused of being drunk.

The original council had 24 members, all but six of whom had studied at the royal colleges or universities of their time. Hilton Young , representative of the Crown, was the first non-medical professional on the council and in 1933 suffragette Christine Murrell became the first woman to join the council. However, Murrell never occupied her seat because she died on October 18, 1933. It was not until 1950 that a woman Hilda Nora Lloyd got a place on the committee. She was seconded from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists , which she had presided over since 1949.

During this time, the GMC set its norms and standards according to its own criteria. Doctors decided what was best for their patients. Bad practice was never an issue. The GMC only intervened in criminal activities or unprofessional professional practice. Moral misconduct by a doctor was more in focus than malpractice . Measurements to determine the quality of the service provided to the patient were virtually unknown.

In 1972 the government began an investigation into the National Health Service , particularly the medical profession. The GMC had strayed so far from the medical profession that confidence in the institution was shaken. The Merrison Committee recommended a series of changes to the organization, licensing, and registration of general practitioners and specialists, which were reflected in the New Medical Act of 1978. On this basis, the GMS was newly compiled in 1979 with defined tasks. However, the resulting activities were insufficient, too timid and too late in public opinion. Political pressure accelerated change, especially after the crisis in the Bristol Royal Infirmary in the early 1990s.

The GMC itself now also tried to contribute to the change. In 1995, in agreement between the medical profession and the public, the Good Medical Practice was published for the first time, a guide on which standards a patient could expect from his treatment. But that doesn't stop the pressure for change. Technological development makes data available more easily, faster and more frequently, so that the public can gain insight into the statistical performance of individual institutions in comparison with others. Professional practice is becoming more transparent and more in the public eye.

The self-regulation of earlier days gave way to professional regulation with regular revalidation (since 2012) of the services and management of doctors. In 2003 the chamber was changed again, membership reduced from 104 to 35, the proportion of lay members rose to 40% (2020: 50%) and the election of members was replaced by appointment by the Privy Council .

organization

The authoritative body of the GMC is the Council, a group of twelve members from the four countries of the United Kingdom, six medical professionals and six lay people. The Council defines the strategic direction of the GMC and monitors the management. The council members are also trustees of the non-profit association ( charity ). The council members are appointed by the Privy Council according to the guidelines of the Professional Standards Authority.

The council is supported by several committees:

Audit and Risk Committee
Remuneration Committee
Investments Committee
MPTS Committee
Board of Pensions Trustees
GMC / MPTS Liaison Group

The Council monitors the activities of the Executive Board (governing body).

In addition to these organs of the association, there is a commercial subsidiary, GMC Services International, which is supposed to develop new lines of business in order to reduce the dependence on contributions from the medical profession.

Finances

According to the audited annual financial statements, 2018 revenues were around GBP 110 million and gross profit was around 5 million.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Our Annual Report 2018. (PDF) General Medical Council, accessed on April 11, 2020 (English).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Donald Irvine: A short history of the General Medical Council . In: Association for the Study of Medical Education (Ed.): Medical Education . tape 40 , no. 3 , March 2006, p. 202-211 , doi : 10.1111 / j.1365-2929.2006.02397.x .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s unknown: Our History. In: General Medical Council website. Accessed April 10, 2020 (English).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Niall Dickson: Regulation in a changing healthcare landscape: the role of the General Medical Council. In: Royal College of Physicians website ; First publication: Future Healthcare Journal October 2014. 2014, accessed on April 21, 2020 (English, DOI: https://doi.org/10.7861/futurehosp.14.021 ).

[GMC-AnRep2018-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Our Annual Report 2018. (PDF) General Medical Council, accessed on April 11, 2020 (English).

[NCBI-GMC-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Donald Irvine: A short history of the General Medical Council . In: Association for the Study of Medical Education (Ed.): Medical Education . tape 40 , no. 3 , March 2006, p. 202-211 , doi : 10.1111 / j.1365-2929.2006.02397.x .

[GMC-AbUs-3] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s unknown: Our History. In: General Medical Council website. Accessed April 10, 2020 (English).

[Dickson2014-4] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Niall Dickson: Regulation in a changing healthcare landscape: the role of the General Medical Council. In: Royal College of Physicians website ; First publication: Future Healthcare Journal October 2014. 2014, accessed on April 21, 2020 (English, DOI: https://doi.org/10.7861/futurehosp.14.021 ).