The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) is the adjudication body responsible for making decisions on doctors’ fitness to practice in the UK. The MPTS was established in 2012 and is funded by but independent of the General Medical Council (GMC). The site has information for doctors and witnesses attending hearings. Full text decisions of the MPTS are provided along with guidance and relevant legislation.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) regulates fertility treatment and research in the UK. Its website explains its regulatory work and provides inspection reports, policy consultation documents and other publications. The ‘About the HFEA’ section includes domestic and EU legislation and a scanned pdf version of the 1984 Warnock Report on IVF. There are information pages for donors; donor-conceived people; fertility patients; clinic staff; the media and researchers. The FAQs page includes guidance on making complaints.
The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) is the regulator for social workers in England and for UK health and care professionals such as art therapists, clinical scientists, dietitians, occupational therapists, paramedics and physiotherapists. The HCPC website gives the full list of regulated professions and provides a searchable register of regulated individuals.
The General Optical Council (GOC) is the regulator for the optical professions in the UK, registering optometrists, dispensing opticians, student opticians and optical businesses. Within the ‘General Public’ section, ‘Legislation’ contains a consolidated version with amendments of the Opticians Act 1989, GOC rules and regulations and amendments to Medicines Act legislation, all downloadable in PDF format.
The General Medical Council (GMC) registers doctors to practise medicine in the UK. The ‘Registration and licensing’ section of the website allows users to search the List of Registered Medical Practitioners, a list of general practitioners eligible to work for the UK health service. It includes any publicly available fitness to practise history since 20 October 2005. There is a separate search facility for recent fitness to practise decisions. The ‘About us’ section provides links to relevant legislation, including a consolidated version with amendments of the Medical Act 1983.
The General Dental Council (GDC) regulates dental professionals in the United Kingdom. The ‘Members of public’ section on the GDC’s website allows users to search for dentists, dental care professionals and specialists. This section also has information on complaints procedures and details of outcomes of recent hearings of the Professional Conduct Committee (PCC), which are available in PDF format. The site also details standards for dental professionals and provides links to other relevant healthcare organisations, as well as providing information about the GDC itself
