GMC reform consultation extended by four weeks 

The Government has pushed back the deadline for its consultation on proposed GMC reforms by four weeks, saying that this will provide ‘more time to respond to questions related to the Mann Review’.

The consultation, which was published in March, was set to close yesterday (23 June) but will now remain open for responses until 21 July. 

The proposals recommend that the GMC retains its right to appeal while also gaining new powers to challenge interim MPTS decisions.  

It had been expected that the proposed legislation would strip the GMC of this right, before the Government’s apparent U-turn on the issue.      

The extension comes a week after the BMA announced it was preparing legal action against the Government over this ‘U-turn’. 

The union claimed the Government ‘deliberately misled’ the public by stating that Lord Mann had recommended that the GMC should retain its right to appeal in his review into antisemitism in the NHS. 

While the Government’s consultation, which was based on the Mann Review, was published on 24 March, the review itself was published in full on 4 June.   

The BMA has argued this meant many respondents to the consultation were responding based on the ‘misrepresentation’ rather than the review’s actual wording. 

Meanwhile, the Medical Defence Union (MDU), a medical defence organisation, published its response to the consultation, arguing the retention of the GMC’s appeal powers would prolong fitness-to-practise cases for doctors. 

Tom Reynolds, the MDU’s director of policy and communications, said: ‘The MDU has long argued that the GMC’s professional regulation needs updating to make it more timely, fair and proportionate for doctors, so we welcome this consultation.   

‘However, as they stand, rather than simplifying the regulatory process, some of the proposed reforms could make the situation even more complex and protracted.  This outcome would be a tragedy for doctors who have waited so long for positive reform. 

‘Fitness to practise investigations currently take around two years, placing a huge strain on doctors going through the process. Retaining the GMC’s right of appeal while expanding the PSA’s powers risks adding more layers of bureaucracy to an already lengthy process.  

‘This will undoubtedly increase the uncertainty doctors face and prolong what is already an exhausting and highly stressful experience.’