In order to practice medicine in the UK doctors must be registered with the
General Medical Council (GMC). The GMC’s
Medical Register of UK doctors lists all medical practitioners qualified to practise in the UK. Doctors must have full registration for unsupervised medical practice in the UK health service or private practice in the UK
They also need specialist registration if they wish to take up a consultant post (other than a locum consultant post), and/or GP registration for GP work, including locums, within the UK health service. Doctors are entitled to full registration with the GMC after the end of Foundation Year 1 (see
Training of UK doctors and specialists).
The British Medical Association (BMA) is the professional association which represents doctors from all branches of medicine in the UK. The BMA has a small public information service, staffed by information officers, which advises the public on BMA policy and other related health issues
Directory of UK Medical Associations
We provide a UK medical directory of
contact information and brief details for all of the major medical associations and doctor organisations in the UK. Search the directory.
Checking a doctor's registration
The GMC has an online database of registered doctors on their website - the
List of Registered Medical Practitioners - a medical directory for the UK. They
cannot provide information on a doctor's particular expertise or whether they carry out a particular medical procedure or treatment.