General Medical Council Health Committee (Procedure) Rules Order of Council 1987
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1987/2174 |
| Year | 1987 |
1987No. 2174
MEDICAL PROFESSION
The General Medical Council Health Committee (Procedure) Rules
Order of Council 1987
Made
16thDecember1987
Laid before Parliament
17thDecember1987
Coming into force
14thJanuary1988
At the Council Chamber, Whitehall, the 16th day of December 1987
By the Lords of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council
Whereas in pursuance of paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to the Medical Act 1983 ( a), the General Medical Council have made the General Medical Council Health Committee (Procedure) Rules 1987:
And whereas by sub-paragraph (5) of the said paragraph 1 such Rules shall not come into force until approved by order of the Privy Council:
Now, therefore, Their Lordships, having taken the said Rules into consideration, are pleased to, and do hereby, approve the same as set out in the Appendix to this Order.
This Order may be cited as the General Medical Council Health Committee (Procedure) Rules Order of Council 1987, and shall come into force on 14th January 1988.
G. I. de Deney |
|
Clerk of the Privy Council |
APPENDIX
THE GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL HEALTH COMMITTEE (PROCEDURE) RULES 1987
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1. Citation and commencement
2. Interpretation
(a) 1983 c.54.
3. Times and places of meetings of the Committee
4. Selection of medical assessors and medical examiners
PART II
ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE INITIAL CONSIDERATION OF CASES
5. Appointment of member to conduct initial consideration of cases
6. Information raising question as to practitioner's fitness to practise
7. Medical Examination
8. Action following consideration of reports on medical examination
9. Provisions applying where a practitioner has undertaken to comply with the recommendations of the medical examiners
10. Reference to the Preliminary Proceedings Committee
11. Provisions applying when a case has been referred to the Committee by the Preliminary Proceedings Committee or by the Professional Conduct Committee
PART III
INITIAL HEARINGS BY THE COMMITTEE
12. Notice of referral
13. Postponement of hearing of a case
14. Cancellation of inquiry
15. Preliminary circulation of evidence
16. Medical assessors
17. Hearings before the Committee
18. Documents before the Committee
19. Oral Testimony
20. Procedure for presentation of the case
21. Presentation of the practitioner's case
22. Adjournment for further medical reports
23. Postponement of finding
24. Determination of the Committee
25. Direction for suspension of registration
26. Announcement of determination
27. Provision for resumed hearings
28. Revocation of order for interim suspension or interim conditional registration
29. Cases referred by the Professional Conduct Committee
PART IV
RESUMED HEARINGS BY THE HEALTH COMMITTEE
30. Direction for resumed hearing
31. Notice of resumed hearing
32. Medical assessors at resumed hearing
33. Procedure at resumed hearing
PART V
GENERAL
34. Adjournment of proceedings
35. Deliberation in camera
36. Voting
37. Service of documents
38. Notes and transcript of proceedings
39. Revocation
SCHEDULE 1 - Provisions as to meetings of the Committee
SCHEDULE 2 - Medical examiners and medical assessors
SCHEDULE 3 - Panel of members to assist the President
The General Medical Council, in exercise of their powers under paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to the Medical Act 1983, and after consulting such bodies representing medical practitioners as appeared to the Council to be requisite, as required by that paragraph, hereby make the following rules:-
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Citation and Commencement
1. These rules may be cited as the General Medical Council Health Committee (Procedure) Rules and shall come into force on 14th January 1988.
Interpretation
2.-(1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires-
"the Act" means the Medical Act 1983;
"the Committee" means the Health 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;
"defence society" means the Medical Defence Union, the Medical Protection Society, or the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland;
"The Preliminary Proceedings Committee and Professional Conduct Committee (Procedure) Rules" means the rules made by the General Medical Council for those Committees in exercise of the powers conferred on the Council by paragraphs 1 and 5 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 those rules as amended.
"the Legal Assessor" means an Assessor appointed by the Council under paragraph 7 of Schedule 4 to the Act;
"medical adviser" means, in relation to "the practitioner" as defined in this rule, any other registered medical practitioner (but not more than one) whom the practitioner has consulted as a patient in regard to his own health and whom the practitioner elects to treat as his medical adviser for the purpose of proceedings under these rules;
"medical assessor" means a person chosen by the President in accordance with the Second Schedule to the rules to advise the Committee;
"medical examiner" means a person chosen in accordance with the Second Schedule to the rules by the President to examine and report on a practitioner;
"medical supervisor" means, in relation to "the practitioner" as defined in this rule, any registered medical practitioner appointed under these rules to supervise and report on the fitness to practise of the practitioner;
"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, 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 a local or public authority, or any person holding judicial office, or any officer attached to a Court, or the Solicitor to the Council;
"the practitioner" means a person registered (in any way) under the Act whose fitness to practise has been called into question by reason of a physical or mental condition, and includes a person whose registration is currently suspended;
"Preliminary Proceedings Committee" and "Professional Conduct Committee" respectively means the Committees of those names constituted under section 1 of, and in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 1 to, the Act;
"the President" means the President of the Council and includes any other member appointed under rule 5(2) or (3) or exercising the President's powers or functions under rule 5(4);
"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, and references to the Solicitor in these rules shall be deemed to include Counsel representing the Solicitor in accordance with the provisions of rule 17(4);
(2) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference
(a) to a numbered rule or Schedule is to the rule in or Schedule to these rules bearing that number;(b) in a rule or Schedule to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph in that rule or Schedule bearing that number;(c) in a paragraph to a lettered sub-paragraph is to the sub-paragraph in that paragraph bearing that letter.Times and places of meetings of the Committee
3. The provisions of Schedule 1 shall have effect as to the times and places of meetings of the Committee, and the mode of summoning members.
Selection of medical assessors and medical examiners
4. The provisions of Schedule 2 shall have effect as to the nomination of medical assessors and medical examiners and the selection of a particular person to act as a medical assessor or examiner in any case, and the duties of medical assessors.
PART II
ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE INITIAL CONSIDERATION OF CASES
Appointment of member to conduct initial consideration of cases
5.-(1) No case shall be considered by the Committee unless it has been referred either-
(a) by the President; or(b) by the Preliminary Proceedings Committee in accordance with the Preliminary Proceedings Committee and Professional Conduct Committee (Procedure) Rules; or(c) by the Professional Conduct Committee in accordance with paragraph 4 of Schedule 4 to the Act.(2) The Council shall appoint the President or, if he proposes to sit on the Committee or for other reasons does not wish to be so appointed, some other member of the Council nominated by him, to undertake the initial consideration of cases under this Part of these rules.
(3) The President may nominate a second member of the Council for appointment by the Council to undertake or assist in the consideration of cases under this Part of these rules, where the President or other member nominated and appointed under paragraph (2) is for any reason unable to act.
(4) 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.
Information raising question as to practitioner's fitness to practise
6.-(1) Where information in writing or a complaint in writing is received by the Registrar about any practitioner which raises a question whether the fitness to practise of the practitioner is seriously impaired by reason of his physical or mental condition the Registrar shall...
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