Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the provision for i) patients ii) family members of deceased patients to contribute to Fitness to Practice proceedings overseen by i) General Medical Council ii) Health and Care Professions Council.

The regulators of registered healthcare professionals, including the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), are independent of the Government, as they are directly accountable to Parliament and responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of their statutory duties. The United Kingdom’s model of healthcare professional regulation is founded on the principle of regulators operating independently from the Government.

Anyone can raise concerns directly with the relevant regulator and contribute information or evidence as part of Fitness to Practise proceedings. This includes patients, family members, and third parties. Both the GMC and HCPC publish guidance and provide support for such witnesses who are involved in these proceedings.

While the Department regularly engages with the GMC and HCPC on a range of issues, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not made a separate assessment of these provisions, which sit within the regulators’ statutory responsibilities.