Self-help guide
1. Health professionals’ fitness to practice
Most health professions have a regulatory body which maintains a register of those qualified to work in that professional capacity in the United Kingdom. The best known is the General Medical Council (GMC) for doctors, but details of all of them are given with this leaflet.
Part of a regulatory body’s role is to investigate serious complaints about individual professionals to establish whether they are ‘fit to practise’. It is important to note that it is not the role of regulatory bodies to investigate complaints which might be serious, but do not call into question a health professional’s fitness to practise. These complaints should be dealt with under the complaints procedures for the NHS or private healthcare explained in other leaflets.
Issues which may require action by a regulatory body include:
- Serious professional misconduct.
- Criminal offences.
- Repeated poor performance calling into question the professional’s competence.
- Health problems such as addictions or mental illness.
2. How to complain to a regulatory body
As with any complaint, it is best made in writing. Be specific as to why the professional may not be fit to practise and include any relevant correspondence and evidence.
3. What happens next?
Each organisation has its own procedures, but will normally follow a similar pattern consisting of:
- Screening the complaint to check whether it is a fitness to practise issue and whether any urgent action is needed pending further investigation.
- If the issue is found to call into question a professional’s fitness to practise, referral to a committee dealing with disciplinary matters.
- A formal hearing.
In cases that proceed to a formal hearing, the complainant may be called as a witness and can be cross-examined by a lawyer acting on behalf of the health professional.
4. Sanctions available to the regulatory body
- Removal from the register, in the most serious cases.
- Temporary suspension from the register or in some cases restrictions as to what a professional can do within their profession.
- Directions to take certain training
5. Useful links
The General Medical Council (GMC), Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) have provided some helpful information which provide good starting points for making complaints about healthcare practitioners.
The GMC’s leaflet on how to complain about a doctor https://www.gmc-uk.org/concerns
The NMC’s leaflet on how to complain about nurses and midwives https://www.nmc.org.uk/concerns-nurses-midwives/
The HCPC’s information on how to complain about other allied healthcare professionals www.hcpc-uk.org/concerns
6. Contact details for the regulatory bodies
Complaints about doctors
General Medical Council Regent’s Place, 350 Euston Road, London NW1 3JN Tel: 0161 923 6602 Email: gmc@gmc-uk.org Web: www.gmc-uk.org
Complaints about nurses or midwives
Nursing and Midwifery Council 23 Portland Place, London W1B 1PZ Tel: 020 7462 5800 or 5801 Email: newreferrals@nmc-uk.org Web: www.nmc.org.uk
Complaints about dentists
General Dental Council 37 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8DQ Tel: 0207 167 6000 Email: information@gdc-uk.org Web: www.gdc-uk.org
Complaints about opticians
General Optical Council 41 Harley Street, London W1G 8DJ Tel: 020 7580 3898 Email: goc@optical.org Web: www.optical.org
Complaints about pharmacists
Royal Pharmaceutical Society 66-68 East Smithfield, London E1W 1AW Tel: 0207 572 2737 Email: support@pharms.com Web: www.rpharms.com
Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland 73 University Street, Belfast BT7 1HL Tel: 028 9032 6927 Email: info@psni.org.uk Web: www.psni.org.uk
Complaints about chiropractors
General Chiropractic Council 44 Wicklow Street, London WC1X 9HL Tel: 020 7713 5155 Email: regulation@gcc-uk.org Web: www.gcc-uk.org
Complaints about osteopaths
General Osteopathic Council 176 Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 3LU Tel: 020 7357 6655 Email: regulation@osteopathy.org.uk Web: www.osteopathy.org.uk
Complaints about other allied healthcare professionals
Including Arts Therapists; Biomedical Scientists; Chiropodists and Podiatrists; Clinical Scientists; Dietitians; Occupational Therapists; Orthoptists; Paramedics; Physiotherapists; Prosthetists and Orthotists; Radiographers; Speech and Language Therapists.
Health & Care Professions Council 184 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4BU Tel: 0300 500 6184 Email: ftp@hcpc-uk.org Web: www.hcpc-uk.org
Other healthcare regulatory bodies
Care Quality Commission Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4PA Tel: 03000 616161 Email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk Web: www.cqc.org.uk
Professional Standards Authority 16-18 New Bridge Street, London EC4V 6AG Tel: 020 7389 8030 Email: share@professionalstandards.org.uk Web: www.professionalstandards.org.uk/share-your-experience/share-your-experience-of-regulators
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU Tel: 020 3080 6000 Email: info@mhra.gov.uk Web: www.mhra.gov.uk