Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees?
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Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees?
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Doctors in the UK need to pay an annual fee to the GMC to keep their registration. Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees which amount to ~£16,000 over the work
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Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees?
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Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees?
posted at 22/2/2012 4:16 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 8
First: 21/2/2012 Last: 5/4/2012 |
Doctors in the UK need to pay an annual fee to the GMC to keep their registration. Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees which amount to ~£16,000 over the working lifetime?
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Re: Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees?
posted at 22/2/2012 4:24 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 28
First: 20/2/2012 Last: 3/4/2012 |
Please correct me if I am wrong, but from what I can gather over the course of my short medical career, the GMC set standards by which we must abide by and punish us if we fail to meet these standards to ensure PATIENT safety. Why then is the onus on us to pay annual fees and not the NHS or other patient safety bodies. I'm sure I am not fully informed, so please do share but what other services do the GMC provide for Doctors? |
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Re: Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees?
posted at 22/2/2012 6:56 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 147
First: 17/12/2011 Last: 16/5/2012 |
It would be nice if the NHS would pay for GMC registration , but I cant see it happening. A much larger fee for GPs is the cost of Medical Defence Union. I think Hospital Doctors MDU subscriptions are paid for by their employing Authority. GPs pay theirs out of their income. MDU subscription have always risen faster that inflation. My 92 yo father who is I think just about the oldest FRCP in the UK delights in telling me that when the left the Army after WW 11 he took out life membership for the MDU for 100 pounds. I think that in future years MDU subscriptions may deter Doctors from entering General Practice. |
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Re: Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees?
posted at 22/2/2012 7:09 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 28
First: 20/2/2012 Last: 3/4/2012 |
Unless I'm mistaken, we all pay for our own memberships. I myself am a member of the MPS and have been paying for it since starting as a doctor, and even enjoyed the £10 subscription as a medical student. The cost is cheap, at the moment but it does get higher which each subsequent year, but you're right it doesn't come near the price GPs must pay. The point I'm trying to make is however that Medical Defence Unions and the rest serve us. In a pinch they are who we turn to. Already I have found their advice invaluable. So for me its worth the money I'm paying. GMC on the other hand....taking a lot of my money but I'm yet to discover what they've done for me. I know they maintain standards for our hospitals and patients but we are the ones paying for it. |
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Re: Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees?
posted at 22/2/2012 8:04 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1
First: 22/2/2012 Last: 22/2/2012 |
Interesting question. But all healthcare professions that require regulation would then ask for their fees to be covered too. The Nursing and Midwifery Council chages £76 a year I believe, and there are 665,599 nurses alone, according to 2009/10 figers. That's a bill of over £50 per annum to the NHS, just for nurses, now add in the other healthcare professions and doctors who pay far more. Is that really a burden the NHS can afford to take on at the moment? My Trust is to close 100 beds to save £5 millon per year for 5 years, imagine having to cover the regulation fees. |
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Re: Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees?
posted at 22/2/2012 8:49 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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*Moderator*
Posts: 593
First: 17/11/2008 Last: 15/5/2012 |
UKPAO1 makes a good point. You couldn't ask the NHS to pay for doctors and not for pharmacists etc. The GMC fee is not cheap however. And with the categories changing I can't see the attraction of staying on the register unless you have to in order to do any doctoring. I love the idea of Pat's dad paying £100 for life. |
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Re: Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees?
posted at 23/2/2012 12:11 AM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 8
First: 23/2/2012 Last: 30/3/2012 |
I DO think the GMC should pay for our subscription!! Particularly as they are registered as a CHARITY, yet rake in Millions of pounds every year for their advice and regulations, which we are obliged to follow if we want to work in the UK! I know it's unlikely that this will ever change, but it would be nice if the cost would at least be covered for Pre-regestration house officers (FY1s) as they are mostly VERY broke when applying for it, following their final year at university. I am at least grateful that is possible to claim back a portion from HMRC!! 
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Re: Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees?
posted at 23/2/2012 8:54 AM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 678
First: 19/4/2010 Last: 15/5/2012 |
The registration with the GMC is part of our professional expenses, and we should pay for the registration. Health Boards (Trusts in Englandshire) offer us jobs based on us being registered with the GMC - we then have the choice of paying for our registration, or not. If we don't want to pay, we don't take up the role. The GMC is our govorning body, the setter of standards, the monitor of performance, and the assurance of quality. To say that it doesn't do anything for us is ridiculous. The GMC provides the framework of standards to which all medical schools must abide. It provides a standard approach to teaching and practicing medicine so all patients receive the same standard of care, no matter where they come from. They police our profession, ensuring that those who do not reach the standards expected from us are removed from practice, and remedialised, or removed completely. They ensure patient safety. I pay my GMC registration fee gladly - they are providing a great service, they provide me with registration and a licence to practice, and I know that the are policing our profession. I hope to never have to contact the police for anything, and indeed I think I've only ever once had to, but that doesn't mean I want to stop paying the taxes that fund the police force. And the idea that doctors cannot afford the registration fee is slightly ridiculous. If I recall correctly, the registration fee is £400 per year, or £33 per month, and you can claim tax relief on that. FY1s on a Band 2A rota earn.....
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Re: Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees?
posted at 24/2/2012 10:29 AM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 28
First: 20/2/2012 Last: 3/4/2012 |
Fair point; the GMC is our governing body and serves to regulate our profession and as such we should pay a membership fee. However I think DundeeChest is very out of touch with what it was like to be a junior doctor. For starters there is no such thing as band 2a anymore since the introduction of the EWTD. The most we get is 1a, and lets please not forget the numerous other work related costs a junior doctor must contend with; exam fees, online question banks, medical defence unions, courses and conferences. And also lets add to that accommodation which in YOUR time was subsidised by the NHS. Essentially we have taken a £7000- £10000 hit, depending on where in the country you're posted, compared to you (and that DOESN'T include the fact that although you were working longer hours you were also getting paid handsomley for it). |
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Re: Should the NHS pay for doctors' GMC annual retention/ certification fees?
posted at 24/2/2012 1:05 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 678
First: 19/4/2010 Last: 15/5/2012 |
Hang on a sec! I paid for my own accommodation as a PRHO. I paid for all my own conferences, exams, courses etc as a PRHO. We worked 120 hour weeks, but ADHs were paid at a 1/3 time, about £3 an hour in 2000. The average income for a person with less than one year's experience in the UK is £19, 629 (www.payscale.com). An FY1 on a band 1B is on £31,377. Life is expensive, and it gets more expensive as we go. But I think we're well paid for an interesting and rewarding job. Part of that job requires that we are registered with our govorning body, and the £33 a month (tax deductible) that it costs to do so, is worth it to me.
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