§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many doctors have been struck off the medical register in each year since 1979;
(2) how many doctors have been found guilty of professional misconduct in each year since 1979.
§ Dr. MawhinneyRegistration of doctors is a matter for the General Medical Council, an independent statutory body, whose functions are determined by the Medical Act 1983. The GMC publishes information about numbers of erasures and cases of professional misconduct in its annual report, a copy of which is available in the Library.
§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are being taken to make doctors more accountable for their actions; and if she will make a statement.
§ Dr. MawhinneyWe have recently set up a review to examine the national health service systems for dealing with complaints about family health services; about hospital services; and about matters of clinical judgment. It will not cover NHS disciplinary procedures: a joint working group is currently reviewing the guidance on these procedures for hospital medical and dental staff and for community and public health doctors. Family health services authorities can make representations to the NHS tribunal if they feel that it would be prejudicial to the efficiency of the service for a particular general practitioner to be included in a list of practitioners providing general medical services.
The professional regulatory bodies like the General Medical Council also have an important role to play in safeguarding standards of medical care.