MPTS Hearings: A Guide for Doctors
Facing MPTS Hearings? Specialist Defence for Doctors
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) is the independent body that runs fitness to practise hearings for doctors in the UK. If the General Medical Council (GMC) refers your case, an MPTS tribunal decides whether your fitness to practise is impaired and what action, if any, should be taken against your registration.
MPTS hearings can result in conditions, suspension or erasure from the medical register, so the way your case is prepared and presented matters enormously. At Regulation Resolution, we are specialist regulatory defence solicitors, and the majority of our clients keep practising or secure a better outcome than they feared. This guide explains what the MPTS is, how its hearings work, and how to protect your career.
What is the MPTS?
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) is the independent tribunal service that runs fitness to practise hearings for doctors in the UK. Operating separately from the General Medical Council (GMC), which investigates and brings cases, an MPTS tribunal decides whether a doctor's fitness to practise is impaired and what sanction, if any, applies.
What are the stages of an MPTS hearing?
An MPTS hearing follows a structured sequence. A medical practitioners tribunal works through the case in the following stages:
- Preliminary matters - the tribunal deals with any legal applications, such as whether parts of the hearing should be held in private, and confirms the allegations the doctor faces.
- The facts stage - the tribunal hears evidence and decides which of the alleged facts are found proved, applying the civil standard (the balance of probabilities).
- The impairment stage - if facts are proved, the tribunal decides whether those findings mean the doctor's fitness to practise is currently impaired.
- The sanction stage - if fitness to practise is impaired, the tribunal decides what action to take, from taking no action through to erasure from the medical register.
- Determination and any interim order - the tribunal announces its decision with reasons, and may impose an immediate order to cover the appeal period.
Tribunals are made up of three members, including at least one medical (registrant) member and one lay member, and are advised on the law by a legally qualified chair or a legal assessor.
What is the difference between the GMC and the MPTS?
The General Medical Council (GMC) is the regulator that registers doctors, investigates concerns and brings cases; the MPTS is the separate tribunal service that hears those cases and makes the decision. In short, the GMC prosecutes and the MPTS adjudicates independently, which is why representation is needed at both the investigation and hearing stages.
Because the two bodies play different roles, your defence strategy should be shaped from the moment the GMC opens an investigation, long before any tribunal date. Our GMC defence solicitors handle the GMC investigation stage, while this guide focuses on the MPTS hearing itself.
Do I have to attend my own MPTS hearing?
You are not legally required to attend your own MPTS hearing, and a tribunal can proceed in your absence. However, attending is almost always in your interest: it lets you give evidence, show insight and remediation, and respond to the GMC's case. Doctors who engage and are represented generally achieve better outcomes.
If you cannot attend for genuine reasons, such as ill health, your representative can ask the tribunal to adjourn or to proceed on your behalf. In some review cases, a decision can be made "on the papers" where both you and the GMC agree the proposed outcome, without anyone attending in person.
How do I challenge an MPTS decision?
A doctor found impaired by a medical practitioners tribunal can appeal to the High Court (or the Court of Session in Scotland) under Section 40 of the Medical Act 1983. The appeal must be filed within 28 days of being notified of the decision. Other decisions, such as a warning, may be challenged by judicial review.
On appeal, the court can dismiss the appeal, allow it and quash the decision, substitute a different decision, or send the case back to a fresh tribunal. Because the 28-day deadline is strict and appeals turn on points of law and procedure, you should take specialist advice immediately after receiving a determination.
The GMC and the Professional Standards Authority can also challenge a tribunal's decision if they consider it insufficient to protect the public, so a favourable outcome is not always the end of the matter. If your case began with an interim restriction, our interim orders hearings guide explains how those orders work alongside the main hearing.
What sanctions can an MPTS tribunal impose?
If a medical practitioners tribunal finds a doctor's fitness to practise impaired, it chooses a sanction proportionate to the case. The available outcomes, from least to most serious, are set out below.
| Outcome | What it means | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| No action | The tribunal takes no further action against your registration, even though impairment was found. | N/A |
| Warning | Issued where fitness to practise is not impaired; a mark on your record but not a restriction on practice. | Published for a set period |
| Undertakings | Agreed restrictions or commitments (for example on supervision or retraining), accepted where agreed with the GMC. | As agreed, then reviewed |
| Conditions | Restrictions placed on your registration allowing you to keep practising within limits. | Up to 3 years, then reviewed |
| Suspension | Your registration is suspended, so you cannot practise for the period ordered. | Up to 12 months, then reviewed |
| Erasure | Your name is removed from the medical register and you can no longer practise. | Restoration possible after 5 years |
Durations reflect the GMC's Sanctions guidance for medical practitioners tribunals. In cases relating solely to a doctor's health or knowledge of English, suspension may be indefinite and erasure is not available.
MPTS Hearings: Your Questions Answered
What is the MPTS?
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) is the independent tribunal service that runs hearings into doctors' fitness to practise. It operates separately from the General Medical Council (GMC), which investigates and brings cases, and has done so since 2012.
What is the difference between the GMC and the MPTS?
The General Medical Council investigates concerns and brings the case; the MPTS is the separate tribunal service that hears it and makes the decision. The GMC effectively prosecutes, while the MPTS adjudicates independently, which is why doctors need advice at both the investigation and hearing stages.
Do I have to attend my own MPTS hearing?
You are not legally required to attend, and a tribunal can proceed in your absence, but attending is usually in your interest. It allows you to give evidence, demonstrate insight and remediation, and respond to the GMC's case. Represented doctors who engage generally achieve better outcomes.
What sanctions can an MPTS tribunal impose?
If a doctor's fitness to practise is found impaired, a medical practitioners tribunal can take no action, accept undertakings, place conditions on registration, suspend the doctor, or erase them from the medical register. If fitness to practise is not impaired, the tribunal may still issue a warning, which is not a sanction.
How do I challenge an MPTS decision?
A doctor found impaired can appeal to the High Court, or the Court of Session in Scotland, under Section 40 of the Medical Act 1983, within 28 days of being notified of the decision. Other decisions, such as warnings, may be challenged by judicial review. The deadline is strict, so seek advice immediately.
How long does an MPTS hearing take?
There is no fixed length. Straightforward cases may be heard in a few days, while complex cases involving extensive evidence can run over several weeks, sometimes across separate blocks of dates. Interim orders imposed before the main hearing last up to 18 months and are reviewed at least every six months.
Why choose Regulation Resolution for your MPTS hearing?
Written by Jonathan Meadows, Solicitor and Managing Director, reviewed July 2026.
We take a proactive, strategic approach to defending doctors before the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service. As specialist regulatory defence solicitors, we prepare and present your case at every stage, from the GMC investigation through to the MPTS hearing and any appeal, and the majority of our clients keep practising or achieve a better outcome than they feared.
Every case is different, so we build a tailored defence strategy around your circumstances - never a template.
If you have been notified of an MPTS hearing or an interim orders tribunal, the time to prepare is now.
Contact Regulation Resolution today for a confidential consultation and let us protect your registration, your reputation and your career.
Please call us now on 0208 088 5161 or complete our contact form here and we will be in touch to help you.