Overview
- Health officials launched a consultation Tuesday to speed suspensions or dismissals for doctors who use racist or antisemitic language, in what ministers call the biggest shake‑up of medical regulation in four decades.
- Plans would let the General Medical Council and the Professional Standards Authority challenge decisions by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, the independent panel that rules on GMC cases.
- The GMC welcomed the proposals as a faster route to protect patients, while doctors’ groups including the BMA and DAUK warn keeping or widening appeal rights could politicise cases and weaken tribunal independence.
- Campaigners say the changes could be used to silence pro‑Palestine staff, pointing to GMC and PSA court action against Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu‑Sittah after an MPTS ruling cleared him of supporting terrorism.
- The consultation also considers removing a five‑year bar on hearing historic sexual‑abuse allegations, with any changes requiring further policy work and legislation before they take effect.