Medical Watchdog Erases Past Sanctions for Gender-Transitioning Doctors

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The General Medical Council (GMC) has confirmed that doctors who transition gender are issued new registrations, effectively wiping their past disciplinary records from public access. This revelation has sparked widespread concerns over transparency and accountability in the medical profession.

 

The case of Sandie Peggie, a nurse currently in a legal battle with NHS Fife, has further intensified these concerns. Peggie alleges she was harassed after raising objections to sharing a women’s changing room with Dr. Beth Upton, a transgender doctor who was born male. She argues that NHS Fife prioritized Dr. Upton’s rights over her own right to single-sex facilities. While this case continues, the GMC’s approach to handling gender transitions among doctors has drawn sharp criticism.

 

A GMC spokesperson confirmed that when a doctor transitions, their previous public-facing record is not linked to their new registration. “If a doctor had received a historical sanction [i.e. a suspension that is no longer in place] prior to transitioning, this information would not be available on their new public-facing record on the medical register,” the spokesperson stated.

 

Dr. Upton is among 62 doctors who have been issued new GMC numbers post-transition, making it impossible for patients to trace their previous identities and any related disciplinary actions. A retired anaesthetist who contacted The Telegraph voiced concerns about this practice, emphasizing the importance of maintaining trust in medical professionals. “Because the GMC has an even more important role than it did a couple of decades ago—recording and marking the careers of doctors—people need to be confident about the identities of doctors,” the whistleblower said.

 

A GMC number serves as a unique identifier throughout a doctor’s career, appearing on official documents such as training records, appraisals, and prescriptions. However, in cases where doctors transition, not only is their GMC number changed, but their prior record remains unlinked to their new identity in the publicly accessible database.

 

Adding to the controversy, the GMC’s own guidelines do not require doctors to provide evidence of gender transition. This means that female patients who specifically request a female doctor have no means of verifying whether their doctor was biologically male. Furthermore, any past disciplinary measures, such as suspensions or formal warnings, do not carry over to the new public record, leading to concerns that a doctor with a history of professional misconduct could evade public scrutiny simply by transitioning.

 

“There are extremely serious implications for the GMC issuing new numbers—essentially new identities—to 62 doctors,” said Helen Joyce, the director of advocacy at Sex Matters, a gender-critical human rights organization. The GMC maintains that internally, all records remain linked, ensuring that no doctor struck off the register can reapply under a new gender identity. However, critics argue that an upheld suspension, which would normally be visible for years, is effectively hidden from public view post-transition.

 

The GMC has refused to disclose whether any of the 62 doctors who received new registrations had previously been subject to disciplinary action. “Owing to the complexities around information relating to doctors who have transitioned, we would need to carry out a Freedom of Information access request for details of any doctors who had ‘fitness to practise’ sanctions recorded on their pre-transition public-facing medical register entry,” a GMC spokesperson stated.

 

Legal experts have also condemned the GMC’s policy. Sarah Vine, a KC at Doughty Street Chambers, argues that this approach is legally unsound. “There is a strong public interest in knowing a doctor’s disciplinary history. It’s very hard to argue that a doctor’s privacy is something that can override that legitimate purpose. It looks like a wholesale misreading of the application of human rights, domestic equality law and the Gender Recognition Act,” she said.

 

Vine further asserts that under data protection law, publicly available disciplinary records cannot be erased simply because a doctor changes their gender identity. “What the GMC either fail to understand or are ignoring is that under data protection law, if a doctor’s suspensions are publicly available because there is a legitimate reason to provide that information to the public—which there clearly is in this context—that cannot be displaced simply because a doctor has asserted a particular gender identity and does not want to be known under the identity that aligns with their sex,” she explained.

 

The case of Dr. Upton further highlights the wider issue. In Peggie’s ongoing tribunal, she claims she was harassed by being required to share a changing room with Dr. Upton, a claim disputed by both the doctor and the health board. Despite the ongoing tribunal, NHS Fife has now launched a misconduct hearing against Peggie for allegedly misgendering Dr. Upton.

 

GMC records can sometimes be updated—for instance, to reflect a name change after marriage or divorce—but a doctor’s GMC number traditionally remains the same throughout their career. The practice of issuing entirely new numbers to doctors who transition is what critics say undermines accountability.

 

Dr. Louise Irvine, co-chair of the Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender (CAN-SG), argues that the GMC is failing in its duty to ensure transparency. “When you look up ‘Dr Beth Upton’ and you don’t see any reference to the doctor’s professional life or records before the change of identity and GMC number, including previous name, then you have a problem with accountability and transparency. That should be the public purpose of the GMC. They shouldn’t be obscuring past information,” she said.

 

Indeed, Dr. Upton’s previous registration was “relinquished” in April 2023, but there is no mention of this on the current record. Dr. Irvine emphasizes that the GMC’s stance forces patients to rely on healthcare providers for accurate information about their doctor’s biological sex—an unreliable solution, as demonstrated by the ongoing tribunal in Fife. “Gender is irrelevant in this context; for many women, it’s sex that matters when it comes to healthcare provision, especially for intimate care. Patients need to be able to find this information when they want it,” she stated.

 

The retired anaesthetist who contacted The Telegraph warned of the long-term implications of the GMC’s policy. “The GMC oversees the accumulation of data and information over the course of your career, so it feels wrong that that data should be missing or appearing under a different name and number,” she said. “I worry about that aspect of it.”

 

Based on a report by The Daily Telegraph  2025-02-22

 

 

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Medical Watchdog Erases Past Sanctions for Gender-Transitioning Doctors,

 

10 hours ago, Social Media said:

A GMC spokesperson confirmed that when a doctor transitions, their previous public-facing record is not linked to their new registration. “If a doctor had received a historical sanction [i.e. a suspension that is no longer in place] prior to transitioning, this information would not be available on their new public-facing record on the medical register,” the spokesperson stated.

  

Now that's sincerely Wrong .  what  was on there record  before should stay on there record no matter what..