Our role
We are the tribunal service for doctors, physician associates and anaesthesia associates.
We run hearings that make independent decisions about whether doctors, physician associates and anaesthesia associates are fit to practise in the UK.
We run hearings that make independent decisions about whether doctors, physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) are fit to practise in the UK.
We run hearings that make independent decisions about whether doctors, physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) are fit to practise in the UK.
Our tribunals can restrict a doctor’s, PA’s or AA’s practice, or stop them from working in the UK.
What do we do?
We run medical practitioners tribunal hearings and interim orders tribunal hearings for doctors and associate tribunals and interim measures tribunals for PAs and AAs. To do this, we:
- make sure tribunal’s decisions meet our high standards
- appoint, appraise and train:
- tribunal members
- legally qualified chairs
- schedule hearings
- facilitate pre-hearing meetings
- give administrative support to tribunals during hearings
- update the GMC registers and publish the records of public hearings
- provide information about upcoming hearings.
Our hearings
We usually hold several hearings a day, most of which are open to the public. These can take place either in person or virtually.
We conduct hearings according to the Medical Act 1983, the Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates Order 2024 and other statutory rules.
Find out more about how hearings work for doctors and for PAs and AAs.
Our relationship with the GMC
We’re accountable to the GMC’s Council and the UK Parliament and operate separately from the GMC.
The role of the Committee
Our Committee is responsible for providing a hearings service that is efficient, effective and clearly separate from the investigatory role of the General Medical Council. The Committee oversees the delivery of the hearing service for doctors, physician associates and anaesthesia associates. It ensures the service meets its responsibilities under the Medical Act and The Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates Order.
It is a statutory committee made up of five members, two of whom are medically qualified. Two committee members are also tribunal members. The Committee is accountable to GMC Council and the UK Parliament. It is bound by a code of conduct. Details of how the MPTS Committee is composed are set out in The General Medical Council (Constitution of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service) Rules Order of Council 2015.
The Committee has the responsibility for producing an annual performance report to Parliament. It also ensures the quality of decisions, and that guidance is set for tribunals. See the full list of the committee’s responsibilities.
The Committee meets four times a year.
The current members of the Committee are:
- Vacancy, Chair of the MPTS Committee
- Gill Edelman (Lay member – external)
- Barbara Larkin (Lay tribunal member)
- Stephen Webb (Registrant member – external)
- Richard Vautrey (Registrant tribunal member)