Self-help guide
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.
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 should be dealt with under the complaints procedures for the NHS or private healthcare.
Issues which may require action by a regulatory body include:
- serious professional misconduct,
- criminal offences,
- repeated poor performance calling competence into question, and
- health problems such as addictions or mental illness.
How to complain to a regulatory body
As with any complaint, it is best to make your complaint about a health professional in writing. Be specific as to why the professional may not be fit to practise and include any relevant correspondence and evidence.
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, and
- 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.
Sanctions available to regulatory bodies
The following sanctions are available to regulatory bodies:
- 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, and
- directions to take certain training
Regulatory bodies for each healthcare profession
The following are the regulatory bodies for each healthcare profession:
- For doctors — General Medical Council (GMC)
- For nurses and midwives — Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC)
- For dentists and dental professionals — General Dental Council (GDC)
- For opticians — General Optical Council (GOC)
- For pharmacists — the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RCPharm)
- For chiropractors — the General Chiropractic Council (GCC)
- For osteopaths — the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC)
- For other allied healthcare professionals (arts therapists, biomedical scientists, chiropodists and podiatrists, clinical scientists, dietitians, occupational therapists, orthoptists, paramedics, physiotherapists, prosthetists and orthotists, radiographers, and speech and language therapists) — the Health & Care Professionals Council (HCPC)
Depending on the nature of your concern, you may also need to contact the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) or the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).