09.05.13
Fitness to practise hearings to be sped up
New rules have been introduced to speed up and simplify fitness to practise hearings, the GMC has announced.
The rules are designed to speed up the process, removing the need to read out written allegations at the start of a hearing, improving arrangements for witnesses to submit evidence by video or phone, and telling witnesses in advance if they need to give evidence in person.
Niall Dickson, chief executive of the GMC, said: “We are determined to create a modern, efficient and fair system which protects patients but does not get bogged down in outdated, unnecessary and time consuming procedures.
“We made a great start last year by creating the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) and these new rules will help us to deliver a quicker, simpler and less stressful system for doctors, complainants and witnesses. There is more to do but this is another significant milestone in our reform programme.”
David Pearl, who chairs the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), said: “The MPTS aims to provide a high quality service to all parties involved in hearings. These rule changes are an important step that will improve how we operate.
“Our ambition is to create an efficient, modern adjudication service that meets the needs of doctors, patients and the public.
“These changes will strengthen our case management, improve hearing efficiency and help towards improving our decision-making.”
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