Medical Act 1983
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1983 c. 54 |
| Year | 1983 |
Medical Act 1983
1983 CHAPTER 54
An Act to consolidate the Medical Acts 1956 to 1978 and certain related provisions, with amendments to give effect to recommendations of the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission.
[26th July 1983]
B e it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
Preliminary
The General Medical Council
1 The General Medical Council.
(1) There shall continue to be a body corporate known as the General Medical Council (in this Act referred to as ‘the General Council’) having the functions assigned to them by this Act.
(2) The General Council shall be constituted as provided by Her Majesty by Order in Council under this section subject to the provisions of Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act.
(3) There shall continue to be four committees of the General Council known as the Education Committee, the Preliminary Proceedings Committee, the Professional Conduct Committee and the Health Committee (in this Act referred to as ‘the statutory committees’) constituted in accordance with Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act and having the functions assigned to them by this Act.
(4) Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the General Council, its branch councils and committees, its proceedings, its officers and its accounts.
2 Registration of medical practitioners.
(1) There shall continue to be kept by the registrar of the General Council (in this Act referred to as ‘the Registrar’) two registers of medical practitioners registered under this Act containing the names of those registered and the qualifications they are entitled to have registered under this Act.
(2) The two registers referred to are ‘the register of medical practitioners’ consisting of four lists, namely—
( a ) the principal list,
( b ) the overseas list,
( c ) the visiting overseas doctors list, and
( d ) the visiting EEC practitioners list,
and ‘the register of medical practitioners with limited registration’.
(3) Medical practitioners shall be registered as fully registered medical practitioners or provisionally or with limited registration as provided in Parts II and III of this Act and in the appropriate list of the register of medical practitioners or in the register of medical practitioners with limited registration as provided in Part IV of this Act.
Part II
Medical Education and Registration: Persons Qualifying in the United Kingdom and Elsewhere in the EEC.
3 Registration by virtue of primary United Kingdom orprimary European qualifications.
Subject to the provisions of this Act any person who—
is entitled to be registered under this section as a fully registered medical practitioner.
4 Qualifying examinations and primary Untied Kingdom qualifications.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, a qualifying examination for the purposes of this Part of this Act is an examination held by any of the bodies or combinations of bodies specified in subsection (2) below for the purpose of granting one or more primary United Kingdom qualifications.
(2) The bodies and combinations of bodies entitled to hold qualifying examinations are—
( a ) any of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle, Bristol, Nottingham, Southampton, Leicester, Wales, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dundee or the Queen's University of Belfast or a combination of any two or more of the universities specified in this paragraph;
( b ) a combination of the Royal College of Physicians of London and the Royal College of Surgeons of England;
( c ) a combination of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow;
( d ) the Society of Apothecaries of London;
( e ) with the approval and under the directions of the Education Committee, a combination of any two or more of the bodies specified in paragraphs ( b ), ( c ) and ( d ) above.
(3) In this Act ‘primary United Kingdom qualification’ means any of the following qualifications, namely—
( a ) the degree of bachelor of medicine or bachelor of surgery granted by any university in the United Kingdom;
( b ) licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians of London or the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh or the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh or the Royal College (formerly Royal Faculty) of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow;
( c ) membership of the Royal College of Surgeons of England;
( d ) licentiate in medicine and surgery of the Society of Apothecaries of London.
(4) Any two or more of the universities and other bodies specified in subsection (3) above may, with the approval and under the directions of the Education Committee, unite or co-operate in conducting examinations held for the purpose of granting primary United Kingdom qualifications.
5 General functions of the Education Committee inrelation to medical education in the United Kingdom.
(1) The Education Committee shall have the general function of promoting high standards of medical education and coordinating all stages of medical education.
(2) For the purpose of discharging that function the Education Committee shall—
( a ) determine the extent of the knowledge and skill which is to be required for the granting of primary United Kingdom qualifications and secure that the instruction given in universities in the United Kingdom to persons studying for such qualifications is sufficient to equip them with knowledge and skill of that extent;
( b ) determine the standard of proficiency which is to be required from candidates at qualifying examinations and secure the maintenance of that standard; and
( c ) determine patterns of experience which may be recognised as suitable for giving to those engaging in such employment as is mentioned in section 10(2) below general clinical training for the purposes of...
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