Doctors at the BMA's annual representative meeting overwhelmingly declared their lack of confidence in the General Medical Council “as presently constituted and functioning.”
Very few of the 450 representatives wanted to abolish the council; the vast majority reaffirmed support for professional self regulation and for the principle of revalidation, although there was criticism of the GMC's revalidation proposals.
The meeting did, however, want the council to “initiate urgent reform of its structures and functions in consultation with the profession.”
Similar votes of no confidence were passed by the senior and junior hospital staffs conferences and by the public health conference (10 June, p 1557; 17 June, p 1626). The conference of local medical committees called on the GMC to improve its performance (24 June, p 1692).
Proposing the no confidence motion Dr Peter Terry, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist in Aberdeen, said: “Confidence has been lost in the way the medical profession is regulated. The GMC has failed us. The GMC is a shambles.” He believed that the profession was partly to blame for not pushing for reform years ago.
What was needed, Dr Terry told the meeting, was a review of the electoral process. He said that there should be no unelected medical members and that all elected medical members should be working doctors. There should be more lay members, and the possibility of a lay president should be considered. In addition, there should be a more transparent audit of all decisions and the council should be independent of the government.
Other speakers criticised the slowness of the procedures. Cases could take up to two years to be resolved and this left patients potentially at risk from unsafe doctors, they said. For doctors waiting to have a complaint heard the delays caused stress and anxiety.
Dr Kate Adams, a senior house officer in psychiatry in London, criticised the GMC for running up a deficit of £3m ($4.5m), for its poor public relations, and for having so many unelected members.
Dr Charles Saunders, a consultant in public health medicine in Fife, said that there was a lack of leadership from the GMC and that the failure of the GMC to reform itself was shown in its nonsensical proposals for revalidation. “There comes a time,” he said, “for the profession to stand up and be counted.”
Several elected members of the GMC were worried that the words “no confidence” would be seen as a call for the GMC to be disbanded. “We need to send a strong message to the GMC,” Dr Brian Keighley said. “Please do not send the wrong message to the media.” Dr Simon Fradd admitted that there were concerns about the GMC but he urged the profession to work together to get matters right. “We cannot be sure that the politicians will not use a vote of no confidence to cut across the profession,” he said.
Dr Laurence Buckman, a GP in north London, said that the motion, if passed, “will tell patients that the profession does not trust its own judgment in electing the GMC; it will tell the GMC that the profession will never trust it; and it will encourage the government to disband the GMC and take control itself.”
The chairman of the council, Dr Ian Bogle, said after the debate: “I hope that patients will be reassured by this vote.” (See p 61.)
Full story in News Extra at bmj.com
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BMA NEWS REVIEW
Dr Peter Terry: “The GMC is a shambles”