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Dear V Roy,

Your information request – IR1-4743744812

Thank you for your email dated 12^th January 2025.

How we will consider your request

We are going to consider your request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 (FOIA). The FOIA gives us 20 working days to respond, but we’ll come
back to you as soon as we can.

Your request will be allocated to a member of the team. If you have any
queries please email [1][GMC request email].

Yours Sincerely,

Information Access Team

General Medical Council

3 Hardman Street

Manchester M3 3AW

From: Vandana Roy <[FOI #1224385 email]>
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2025 4:20 PM
To: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Medical students investigated by
GMC

Dear General Medical Council, Can I please have a list of doctors who have
been investigated by the GMC for events that happened when they were
medical students. It would be helpful if I could also have the reasons for
the investigation. Yours

Dear General Medical Council,

Can I please have a list of doctors who have been investigated by the GMC for events that happened when they were medical students. It would be helpful if I could also have the reasons for the investigation.

Yours faithfully,

V Roy

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show quoted sections

Dear Ms Roy

Your information access request

Thank you for your email dated 12 January 2025, where you request ‘a list
of doctors who have been investigated by the GMC for events that happened
when they were medical students’.  You also asked for the reasons for the
investigations.

I’ve considered your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA).

I must advise that we do not record cases according to when the
allegations involved took place, i.e. before, during or after medical
school. To obtain the requested information, we therefore had to conduct a
keyword search for any cases with the terms ‘student’ ‘medical school’ and
‘university’ within the allegation description. As such, some doctor’s
cases may not have been identified. For example, if a doctor commits a
criminal offence while at medical school, it is unlikely that any of the
keywords would have been used. Therefore it is likely that the numbers we
have identified is an underreporting.

From our search, we identified one doctor with a public outcome that was
investigated due to an event that happened when they were a medical
student. You will already be aware of this doctor from my previous
response (IR1-4524602044).

Doctors identified without a public outcome

I am unable to provide you with the names of 6 further doctors that we
identified as being investigated by us for events that happened when they
were medical students, as the details of their investigations are private,
and because it would breach data protection legislation to give this to
you. In most of the cases, we also believe that providing details about
the matters under investigation would also identify them. However, in one
case I can confirm that a doctor failed to declare within their
application for provisional registration that fitness to practise
proceedings took place whilst at medical school.

We cannot provide you with the identities of the doctors or in most cases
details about what was investigated because we believe it’s reasonable for
doctors and complainants to expect that complaints will be treated as
confidential. If a case progresses to a hearing, or an investigation
concludes with a warning or undertakings, certain information may be made
publicly available by the GMC, in line with our publication and disclosure
policy for fitness to practise information. Otherwise the information is
treated as the confidential personal data of the doctor and other parties
involved. I’ve given details of the exemption under the FOIA which applies
below.

The exemption

Section 40(2), by virtue of section 40(3A)(a)

This exemption applies where the information is the personal data of a
third party and where releasing the information would breach any of the
principles relating to the processing of personal data listed at Article 5
of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In this instance
disclosure would breach the first principle, which requires the processing
of information to be lawful, fair and transparent. I do not believe that
any of the legal bases for processing listed at Article 6 of the GDPR are
met and therefore giving you the information would be unlawful.

Your right to appeal

I'm sorry I couldn’t provide a full list of the information requested but
hope that you find the information that I was able to provide useful. If
you would like to appeal this decision, please set out your reasons in
writing to [1][GMC request email]. Please note that we will only usually
consider appeals received within 40 working days of our response. You can
also appeal to the [2]Information Commissioner, the regulator of the FOIA
and DPA.

Information Access Team
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

0303 123 1113

If you have any concerns about the way I’ve handled your request, please
set out your reasons in writing to [3][GMC request email]

Yours sincerely

Remi Owolabi (she/her)

Information Access Officer

General Medical Council

3 Hardman Street

Manchester M3 3AW

General Medical Council

We work with doctors, physician associates (PAs), anaesthesia associates
(AAs), those they care for and other stakeholders to support good, safe
patient care across the UK. We set the standards doctors, PAs, AAs and
their educators need to meet, and help them achieve them. If there are
concerns these standards may not be met or that public confidence in
doctors, PAs or AAs may be at risk, we can investigate, and take action if
needed.

This email may contain privileged or confidential information which should
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The General Medical Council is a charity registered in England and Wales
(1089278) and in Scotland (SC037750)

You are welcome to contact us in Welsh. We will respond in Welsh, without
this causing additional delay.

_________________________________________________________________

Y Cyngor Meddygol Cyffredinol

Rydym yn gweithio gyda meddygon, cymdeithion meddygol (PA), cymdeithion
anesthesia (AA), y rhai y maent yn gofalu amdanynt a rhanddeiliaid eraill
i gefnogi gofal da a diogel i gleifion ledled y DU. Rydym yn gosod y
safonau y mae angen i feddygon, cymdeithion meddygol, cymdeithion
anesthesia a’u haddysgwyr eu bodloni, ac yn eu helpu i’w cyrraedd. Os oes
pryderon na fydd y safonau hyn yn cael eu bodloni o bosibl, neu y gallai
hyder y cyhoedd mewn meddygon, cymdeithion meddygol neu gymdeithion
anesthesia fod mewn perygl, gallwn ymchwilio, a chymryd camau os oes
angen.

Efallai fod y neges e-bost hon yn cynnwys gwybodaeth freiniol neu
gyfrinachol, y dylid ei defnyddio at y diben cafodd ei hanfon ar ei gyfer
yn unig.

Os nad chi sydd i fod i'w dderbyn, neu os ydych chi wedi cael yr e-bost
hwn mewn camgymeriad, peidiwch â’i ddarllen, ei argraffu, ei
ail-drosglwyddo, ei storio na gweithredu gan ddibynnu ar y neges nac
unrhyw atodiadau. Anfonwch yr e-bost at yr anfonwr ac yna ei ddileu ar
unwaith.

Mae’r Cyngor Meddygol Cyffredinol yn elusen gofrestredig yng Nghymru a
Lloegr (1089278) ac yn yr Alban (SC037750)

Mae croeso i chi gysylltu â ni yn Gymraeg. Byddwn ni’n ymateb yn Gymraeg,
heb i hyn achosi oedi ychwanegol.

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