If you think an NHS practitioner or social services employee has been guilty of professional misconduct, you can complain to their professional or regulatory body.
Examples of professional misconduct include:
- practitioners who have a sexual relationship with a patient,
- practitioners who claim that they're competent to practise but are not,
- practitioners who falsely claim that they're qualified to practise,
- breaching confidentiality, and
- manipulating patient's medical records.
Professional regulators
The purpose of the professional regulators is to protect and promote the safety of the public. They do this by setting standards of behaviour, education and ethics that health professionals must meet. They deal with concerns about professionals who are unfit to practise due to poor health, misconduct or poor performance. Regulators register health professionals who are fit to practise in the UK, and can remove a professional from the register and stop them from practising if it's in the interests of public safety.
Details of how to contact the professional regulators are available from the General Medical Council (also available in 12 other languages).
Healthcare regulators
The healthcare professional regulators in England are:
- Doctors: the General Medical Council,
- Nurses and midwives: the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
- Dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists: the General Dental Council.
- Dispensing opticians and optometrists: the General Optical Council.
- Pharmacists: the General Pharmaceutical Council.
- Arts therapists, biomedical scientists, chiropodists and podiatrists, clinical scientists, dietitians, occupational therapists, operating department practitioners, orthoptists, paramedics, physiotherapists, practitioner psychologists, prosthetists and orthotists, radiographers, speech and language therapists: the Health Professions Council.
- Osteopaths: the General Osteopathic Council.
- Chiropractors: the General Chiropractic Council.
The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) oversees the work of the health professions regulators. It carries out an annual performance review with each regulator, and looks at whether the regulator operates to agreed standards. CHRE looks at the final stage decisions made by the regulators on professionals' fitness to practise. If a decision is unduly lenient and therefore fails to protect the public, CHRE has the power to investigate it further. You can find out how to report a health professional on the CHRE website.
Social care regulator
Social care professionals in England are regulated by the General Social Care Council (GSCC), which has codes of practice and training standards that professionals have to meet before they can register.
Currently, only qualified social workers and social work students are registered with the GSCC. However, all social care workers and their employers are expected to follow the codes of practice of the GSCC.
Other help with concerns about professional conduct
You can also contact your local Public Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) or Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) office for advice on how to make a complaint.
