The number of doctors referred by GMC case examiners to fitness-to-practise hearings increased dramatically last year - prompting warnings that the switch to the civil standard of proof may be putting GPs at greater risk of sanction.
New fitness-to-practise statistics published by the GMC reveal 359 doctors were referred to hearings by case examiners in 2008, compared with 196 in 2007 - an 83% rise.
The total number of cases dealt with by the GMC rose only slightly, but the proportion referred to hearings jumped by almost two-thirds from 17% to 28%.
Read more at Pulse.
Tags: fitness to practise, GMC
