The GMC has formally apologised for taking regulatory action in the past against doctors who had been convicted under homophobic laws in place at the time.
Issuing the apology, GMC chair Professor Dame Carrie MacEwen said the regulator was ‘truly sorry’ for compounding the harm who had been convicted under laws that had since been repealed and would now be considered unjust.
Going back to the 1890s, the GMC had found records of cases against at least 40 doctors for engaging, or attempting to engage, in consensual sexual activity and intimacy with other men.
At least eight doctors were struck off the medical register as a result, the trawl through the archives had uncovered. The last confirmed erasure was in 1966, although other doctors were issued with warnings, the GMC said.
Dame Carrie said homophobic laws and attitudes had caused personal and professional harm.
‘We compounded that harm when we also took additional regulatory action against those who were on the medical register. In some cases that meant the end of a practitioner’s career. For this we are truly sorry.’
She added: ‘We cannot be sure of the true number of doctors we took historic action against based on convictions that would now be considered unjust. But the impact on every one of them, and on those close to them, will have been considerable.
‘Laws and attitudes have changed in the years since, as has the GMC. These are historic cases, but it is right that we apologise for them.’
Dr Duncan McGregor, of GLADD – The Association of LGBTQ+ Doctors and Dentists, said they welcomed the GMC apology for historic injustices of regulatory action taken against doctors due to homophobic laws.
‘The profound impact of these actions on their lives cannot be overstated. This apology is an important step in righting the wrongs of the past and, while the hurt and damage that has been caused to those doctors cannot be undone, it is important to acknowledge past injustices.’
Dr McGregor added that although the threat of erasure from the medical register due to a doctor’s sexuality no longer looms, prejudice against LGBTQ+ healthcare staff persists.
‘This apology represents progress towards justice for those impacted by these historic homophobic laws, and progress for the LGBTQ+ community. We hope this gesture brings some measure of solace to those affected doctors and their loved ones.’
Dr Caroline Fryar, Medical Defence Union (MDU) director of medical services, said: ‘Doctors know how important it is to say sorry when something goes wrong. That is one of the many reasons why this apology from the GMC is so important.
‘We welcome the GMC saying sorry for the part it played in the devastation wrought on so many people by historic homophobic laws.
‘No one can change history. But all of us within the medical community can play a role in shaping the future – as we seek to build a more inclusive, compassionate, and fair culture in healthcare.’
READERS' COMMENTS [6]
Please note, only GPs are permitted to add comments to articles
Well done!
58 years late.
How about apologising for all the misery, distress and suicides they have caused over the past few years?
Spot on, Merlin.
A deep & meaningless virtue-signalling, minority-appeasing, consequence-free, headline-hogging historical apology is an easy win, whilst the modern day witch-hunt against hapless over-worked/over-stretched GPs who make the odd error can merrily continue unabated.
Well said Merlin. The GMC should be apologizing to the doctors that have suffered at the GMC’s hands and reflecting and changing the unfair system.
The GMC. Fiddling while Rome burns.
The GMC- lower than vermin.