APPENDIX
THE GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS COMMITTEE AND PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT COMMITTEE (PROCEDURE) RULES 1988
The General Medical Council, in exercise of their powers under paragraphs 1 and 5 of Schedule 4 to the Medical Act 1983, and after consulting with such bodies of persons representing medical practitioners as appeared to the Council to be requisite, as required by those paragraphs, hereby make the following Rules:—
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1. Citation and commencement
These Rules may be cited as the General Medical Council Preliminary Proceedings Committee and Professional Conduct Committee (Procedure) Rules 1988, and shall come into operation on 15th January 1989.
2. Interpretation
(1) In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires:
“the Act” means the Medical Act 1983;
“case relating to conviction” means a case where it is alleged that a practitioner has been convicted, whether while registered or not, in the British Islands of a criminal offence;
“case relating to conduct” means a case where a question arises whether conduct of a practitioner constitutes serious professional misconduct;
“the Committee” means, in Part III of the rules, the Preliminary Proceedings Committee and, in Parts IV to VII of the rules, the Professional Conduct Committee;
“complainant” means a body or person by whom a complaint has been made to the Council;
“the Council” means the General Medical Council or a Committee of the Council acting under delegated power;
“the Health Committee (Procedure) Rules” means Rules made by the Council in the exercise of the powers conferred on them by paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to the Act and references to those Rules are to the Rules currently in force and, unless the contrary intention appears, to such Rules as amended;
“the legal assessor” means an assessor appointed by the Council under paragraph 7 of Schedule 4 to the Act;
“party” has the meaning given in paragraph 13 of Schedule 4 to the Act;
“person acting in a public capacity” means an officer of a Health Authority, Health Board, Common Services Agency or Board of Governors of a hospital, or of a Local or Area Medical Committee or Family Practitioner Committee, or of a Hospital Medical Staff Committee or body exercising similar functions, or of a Licensing Body (that is, a University or other body granting primary United Kingdom qualifications), acting as such, or of a Government Department or local or public authority, or any person holding judicial office, or any officer attached to a Court, or the Solicitor to the Council;
“practitioner” means a person registered (in any way) under the Act and includes a person who has previously been registered and whose registration is currently suspended under section 36 or section 42 of the Act; and references to the practitioner, in relation to any complaint, information or proceedings, are references to the practitioner who is alleged to have been convicted, or whose fitness to practise or conduct is or has been called into question, as the case may be.
“the President” means the President of the Council and includes any other member appointed under rule 4, or under rule 5(2) to (4) of the Health Committee (Procedure) Rules, to undertake functions of the President in initial consideration of cases under rules 5 to 8, 10, and 14 and, if the other member has been appointed to be Chairman of the Preliminary Proceedings Committee, functions of the President under rules 13, 18, 19, 22, 27, 46 and 52(2);
“the Register”, in relation to fully or provisionally registered persons, means the Register of Medical Practitioners, and in relation to persons with limited registration means the Register of Medical Practitioners with limited Registration;
“the Registrar” means the Registrar of the Council;
“the Solicitor” means any Solicitor, or any firm of Solicitors, appointed by the Council, or any partner of such a firm;
(2) In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference
(a)
(a) to a numbered rule or Schedule is to the rule in or Schedule to these rules bearing that number;
(b)
(b) in a rule or Schedule to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph in that rule or Schedule bearing that number;
(c)
(c) in a paragraph to a lettered sub-paragraph is to the sub-paragraph in that paragraph bearing that letter.
3. Times and places of meetings of the committees
The provisions of Schedule 1 shall have effect as to the times and places of meetings of the Preliminary Proceedings Committee and of the Professional Conduct Committee, and the mode of summoning members.
PART II
INITIAL CONSIDERATION OF CASES
4. Appointment of member to conduct initial consideration of cases
(1) No case shall be considered by the Preliminary Proceedings Committee unless it has first been considered
(a)
(a) by a member of the Council appointed under this rule, or
(b)
(b) by a member of the Council appointed under rule 5(2) or (3) of the Health Committee (Procedure) Rules, or exercising the President’s powers or functions under rule 5(4) of those Rules,
and referred by such member to the Committee.
(3) If the President proposes to sit either on the Professional Conduct Committee or on the Health Committee, or if for any other reason the President does not wish to undertake the initial consideration of cases under these Rules, the President shall then nominate some other member of the Council whom the Council shall appoint under this rule, and references in these Rules to the President shall be construed as including references to such member.
(4) The President may nominate members of the Council whom the Council shall appoint to undertake the initial consideration of cases under these Rules in relation to which the member nominated and appointed under paragraph (3) is for any reason unable to act.
(5) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, if at any time the President is absent or unable to act, anything authorised or required by these Rules to be done by the President may be done by any other member of the Council authorised in that behalf by the President or (if the President be unable to give authority) authorised by the Council or by the Preliminary Proceedings Committee on behalf of the Council.
5. Allegations as to conviction
(1) Where information in writing is received by the Registrar from which it appears to him that a practitioner has been convicted in the British Islands of a criminal offence, and the conviction is not of a description excepted from the operation of this rule by or under a direction of the Preliminary Proceedings Committee, the Registrar shall write to the practitioner:—
(a)
(a) notifying him of the receipt of the information;
(b)
(b) informing the practitioner of the date of the next meeting of the Preliminary Proceedings Committee; and
(c)
(c) inviting the practitioner to submit any observations which he may wish to offer.
(2) The Registrar shall submit to the President every case in which information of a conviction is received together with any observations received from the practitioner.
6. Allegations as to professional misconduct
(1) Where a complaint in writing or information in writing is received by the Registrar and it appears to him that a question arises whether conduct of a practitioner constitutes serious professional misconduct the Registrar shall submit the matter to the President.
(2) Unless the complaint or information has been received from a person acting in a public capacity the matter shall not proceed further unless and until there has been furnished to the satisfaction of the President one or more statutory declarations or affidavits in support thereof; and every such statutory declaration or affidavit shall state the address and description of the deponent and the grounds for his belief in the truth of any fact therein which is not within his personal knowledge.
(3) Unless it appears to the President that the matter need not proceed further he shall direct the Registrar to write to the practitioner
(a)
(a) notifying him of the receipt of a complaint or information and stating the matters which appear to raise a question whether the practitioner has committed serious professional misconduct;
(b)
(b) forwarding a copy of any statutory declaration or affidavit furnished under paragraph (2);
(c)
(c) informing the practitioner of the date of the next meeting of the Preliminary Proceedings Committee to which the case may be referred; and
(d)
(d) inviting the practitioner to submit any explanation which...
