TO BE PUBLISHED November 2026
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This conference will examine next steps for professional healthcare regulation in the UK, considering proposals to reform the General Medical Council’s legislative framework. Areas for discussion include implementation of regulatory reform, fitness-to-practise and case resolution, registration and workforce change, regulatory governance and oversight, and professional standards and public confidence.
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to discuss the Draft General Medical Council Order 2026 and priorities arising from the Government's now closed consultation on Reforming the General Medical Council legislative framework, which together set out proposed changes to the GMC's powers, processes and accountability arrangements. Delegates will explore what these changes mean in practice for regulated professionals, employers and healthcare providers.
The conference also takes place amidst wider developments affecting professional standards and workforce assurance, including the recent call for evidence on use of the professional title nurse, the Leng Review of physician associate and anaesthesia associate roles, the Lord Mann Review into antisemitism and racism in the NHS and healthcare regulatory system, the NHS 10 Year Health Plan and the Quality Strategy for NHS-funded care in England. Attendees will consider how the approach taken to the GMC might inform reform affecting the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Health and Care Professions Council and other professional regulators, and implications for quality oversight across the health system moving forward.
Reform implementation, powers & oversight
The agenda will assess key issues for implementing the Draft GMC Order and the sequencing of reform across professional regulators, looking at the scope and use of increased regulatory autonomy, and the oversight arrangements that would sit alongside it.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- reform sequencing: implementation of the Draft GMC Order 2026 - priorities for consultation, rule-making and transitional arrangements
- regulatory powers: the scope and use of increased autonomy and rule-making powers - arrangements for parliamentary, governmental and PSA oversight - learning from early implementation
- system governance: responsibilities of government, regulators, tribunals, employers and professional bodies - clinical input into governance - accountability and escalation across the regulatory system
- delivery capacity: workforce and resource pressures within regulators - management of backlogs and transitional demands - digital systems, data-sharing and reduction of administrative duplication
Fitness-to-practise, case resolution & appeals
Sessions will assess approaches to making fitness-to-practise processes more timely, proportionate and less adversarial, alongside considerations relating to procedural fairness, evidential robustness and public protection. Attendees will also consider proposed changes to appeal and oversight arrangements, including the roles of the GMC and the PSA in challenging tribunal decisions, and what increased autonomy would mean for consistency, timeliness and transparency in decision-making.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- case management: thresholds for referral, investigation and escalation - early case assessment, voluntary resolution and senior decision-making - the handling of historic concerns
- information-sharing: employer referrals and local processes - coordination between regulators, employers and medical defence organisations
- appeals: operation of GMC and PSA appeal powers - substantive and interim tribunal decisions - implications for independence, delay, cost and confidence in decision-making
Registration, workforce roles & scope of practice
Further discussion will examine registration and assurance processes, including arrangements for international medical graduates, and implications of proposals for greater regulatory flexibility for the consistency and operation of standards. Delegates will consider implementation of relevant recommendations from the Leng Review, as well as the wider impact of workforce transformation on education, training and ongoing assurance.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- registration: entry and assurance arrangements across different registrant groups - evidential requirements and processing capacity for international medical graduates - consistency and accessibility
- workforce roles:
- open call for evidence on protecting the professional title nurse - scope of exemptions for established professionals - implications for patient safety and confidence
- implementation of proposals to change the titles of physician associates and anaesthesia associates to physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia
- supervision, delegation and boundaries of practice within multidisciplinary teams
- training: education and skills requirements - implications for regulators, employers and royal colleges
- digital tools and AI: implications of digital tools, data and AI for clinical judgement and professional standards - regulatory oversight - supporting innovation alongside patient safety and public confidence
Professional standards, quality oversight, preventative regulation & emerging risks
The agenda will also examine evolving expectations around professional conduct. This includes how professional regulation interacts with wider approaches to quality oversight following the Quality Strategy for NHS-funded care in England, as well as adapting to new Modern Service Frameworks and shifts towards more integrated, multidisciplinary and community-based models of care set out in the NHS 10 Year Health Plan. Proposals arising from the Lord Mann Review into antisemitism and racism in healthcare will also be assessed, considering implications for regulatory action and organisational culture.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- conduct standards: application of misconduct and impairment thresholds - sanctions, publication and consistency of outcomes across cases - proportionality in regulatory action
- digital professionalism: expectations around conduct in digital and non-clinical settings - social media use
- models of care: professional responsibilities and supporting consistent standards across changing models of care in integrated, multidisciplinary and community-based settings
- quality oversight: roles of regulators, employers and oversight bodies - communicating expectations and effective information-sharing - developing a coherent approach to quality and safety
- emerging risks: use of data and intelligence to identify concerns earlier - how regulatory reform can support learning and improvement alongside assurance and accountability
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those already due to attend include officials from the Department of Health and Social Care; Department of Health, NI; UK Health Security Agency; Office for Investment; the Welsh Government; and The Scottish Government.
