Summary

The General Medical Council, |(GMC) is an independent regulatory body for the medical profession in the UK. It is responsible for overseeing licensing, training, registration of doctors, and setting standards of Good Medical Practice. It also investigates concerns to maintain patient safety. The function of The General Medical Council, is to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public.

Good Medical Practice is a document, which is published by the UK’s GMC. The document describes what is expected of all doctors, who are registered with The General Medical Council. It sets out the standards of competence, care and conduct set by the GMC, and it is the responsibility of doctors, who are registered with the GMC, ‘to follow the guidance it contains.’

 

‘Patients need good doctors. Good doctors make the care of their patients their first concern: they are competent, keep their knowledge and skills up to date, establish and maintain good relationships with patients and colleagues, are honest and trustworthy, and act with integrity and within the law.

Good doctors work in partnership with patients and respect their rights to privacy and dignity. They treat each patient as an individual. They do their best to make sure all patients receive good care and treatment that will support them to live as well as possible, whatever their illness.’[1]

The Duties of a Doctor

In Good Medical Practice, the GMC sets out the professional standards that are expected of doctors: values, knowledge, skills and behaviour.

‘Patients must be able to trust doctors with their lives and wellbeing. To justify that trust, we as a profession must show respect for human life and make sure that your practice meets the standards of you in four domains.’

As a doctor you ‘must’:

       1. Knowledge, skills and performance

Make the care of your patient your first concern

Provide a good standard of practice and care

Keep your professional knowledge up to date

Recognise and work within the limits of your competence

   2.  Safety and Quality

Take prompt action if you think that patient safety is being compromised.

Protect and promote the health of patients and the public.

3.Communication, partnership and teamwork

Treat every patient politely and considerately

Treat patients as individuals and respect their dignity

Respect patients’ right to confidentiality

Work in partnership with patients

Listen to, and respond to their concerns

Give patients the information they want or need in a way they can understand

Respect patients’ right to reach decisions with you about their treatment and care

Work with colleagues in the ways that best serve patients’ interests

4. Maintaining Trust

Be honest and open and act with integrity

Never discriminate unfairly against patients or colleagues

Never abuse your patients’ trust in you or in the public’s trust in the profession.

You are personally accountable for your professional practice and must always be prepared to justify your decisions and actions.

 The Duties of a doctor registered with the GMC.[2] This extract appears on the inside front cover of Good Medical Practice.

Useful Videos

Below are two you tube videos, which explore in depth, what is expected of a doctor, and what General Medical Council guidance involves. The document: Good Medical Practice is available  to view, in full in the download section of my website.

 

Useful Links

Good Medical Practice guidelines

Good Medical Practice: Public Consultation

Foot Notes

[1] General Medical Council; Professionalism in action, P4 Good Medical Practice, Published, London, 2013

[2] General Medical Council, The Duties of a doctor registered with the GMC, Good Medical Practice, London, 2013