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Reporting Restrictions
9.15.7 Medical disciplinary hearings
A disciplinary complaint against a doctor is first considered in private by the Preliminary
Proceedings Committee of the General Medical Council. If the Preliminary Proceedings
Committee finds there is a case to answer, the matter is referred to the Professional Conduct
Committee. The Professional Conduct Committee sits in public, although it can exclude the
press and the public if it is satisfied that undue prejudice would be caused if it did not make
such an order. The Professional Conduct Committee must deliver its decision in public
(General Medical Council Preliminary Proceedings Committee and Professional Conduct
Committee (Procedure) Rules 1988 (Statutory Instrument 1988/2255)). The media may
publish a fair and accurate report of the proceedings.
Similar provisions apply to opticians (Statutory Instrument 1985/1580), nurses (Statutory
Instrument 1993/893), pharmacists (Statutory Instrument 1978/20) and veterinary surgeons
(Statutory Instrument 1967/659).
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