Government will re-consult on GMC retaining powers to appeal fitness-to-practise decisions
The Government will re-consult on controversial plans for the GMC to retain its right to appeal fitness-to-practise decisions.
The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed to Pulse that a new supplementary consultation specifically on the question of appeal rights will be launched with amended text.
It comes after the BMA announced last month it would seek legal action over claims the Government ‘deliberately misled’ the public in the ongoing consultation on reforms to the regulator.
The original consultation had proposed that the regulator retain its right to appeal final decisions and gain new powers to appeal interim decisions, which GPs described as ‘profoundly concerning’.
It will close as scheduled next week, but responses received in relation to the GMC’s right to appeal proposals ‘will not be taken into account’, according to a letter sent from the Government Legal Department to the BMA.
The letter, seen by Pulse, said that the new supplementary consultation will take place ‘as soon as reasonably practicable’.
However, Pulse understands it will not launch until at least September when Parliament returns from summer recess.
The letter also said that this should resolve the matter identified in the BMA pre-action letter and that ‘in the circumstances there can be no basis’ for the BMA to commence proceedings.
The BMA said it was ‘pleased’ the Government recognised that the consultation was ‘fundamentally flawed’.
BMA council deputy chair Dr Emma Runswick said: ‘We should not need to start legal action to ensure the Government consults in way that is lawful.
‘This is a win for doctors and patients who will now have a chance to respond to a consultation on the GMC’s right of appeal that presents the arguments fairly. We will continue to oppose the GMC’s existing right of appeal, and the extension of this right to cover interim tribunal determinations.
‘We would remind the Government as it moves to re-consult that the voices of doctors and independent experts are not to be ignored. We need to see a meaningful reform that will both support doctors and protect patients, with a simplification of the system where the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) remains the only body with right to appeal.’
Currently, the GMC appeals in cases where it feels an MPTS sanction of a doctor has not sufficiently protected the public. 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 earlier this year.
In a judicial review pre-action letter sent last month, the BMA said the Government ‘misrepresented’ Lord Mann’s review into antisemitism in the NHS by claiming his review had recommended the GMC should retain its right to appeal.
While the Government’s consultation on the draft GMC Order 2026, which was based on the Mann Review, was published on 24 March, the review itself was published in full on 4 June.
The BMA argued this meant many respondents to the consultation were responding based on the ‘misrepresentation’ rather than the review’s actual wording.
The Government had already pushed back its original deadline to respond to the consultation by four weeks, saying it would provide ‘more time to respond to questions related to the Mann Review’.
The consultation is still open to responses in its current form and is due to close on 21 July.
In the GMC’s own response to the consultation, it said it was neutral on proposals to retain its right to appeal GP fitness-to-practise decisions but warned against an ‘overlap’ of new powers with other regulators.
A DHSC spokesperson told Pulse: ‘Patient safety will always remain at the heart of everything we do. The government remains committed to overhauling the GMC by removing the outdated, bureaucratic systems in place, ensuring quicker disciplinary actions. We have engaged with stakeholders constructively throughout this process and will continue to do so going forward.’
Pulse has contacted the GMC to comment.
