The number of serious allegations made against doctors has risen by almost three-quarters in the past five years, new figures show.
Last year, the General Medical Council (GMC) looked at 126 allegations of misconduct which threatened a doctor’s fitness to practice, compared with 69 in 2007.
The GMC figures show a steady increase in investigations into serious allegations over the five-year period. A further 82 so-called stream two investigations were taking place last year.
These occur where an allegation is less serious but could indicate a more worrying pattern. A total of 562 of these have been recorded since 2007.
A total of 590 stream one investigations have taken place since 2007. These are when allegations are considered to be serious and call into question the doctor’s fitness to practice.
The statistics emerged after a parliamentary question from Scottish Conservative Highlands and Islands MSP Mary Scanlon, who raised concerns about the number of investigations in relation to disciplinary outcomes.
A total of 54 fitness to practice hearings have taken place in the past six years, with eight doctors prevented from practising medicine in the UK as a result.
