Rise in serious allegations against doctors 'extremely concerning' The number of serious allegations made against doctors has risen by almost three-quarters in the past five years, new figures show. Last year the General Medical Council (GMC) looked at 126 allegations of misconduct which threatened a doctor's fitness to practice, compared with 69 in 2007. The GMC figures show a steady increase in investigations into serious allegations over the five-year period. A further 82 so-called stream two investigations were taking place last year. These occur where an allegation is less serious but could indicate a more worrying pattern. A total of 562 of these have been recorded since 2007. A total of 590 stream one investigations have taken place since 2007. These are where allegations are considered to be serious and call into question the doctor's fitness to practice. The statistics emerged following a parliamentary question from Scottish Conservative Highlands and Islands MSP Mary Scanlon who raised concerns about the number of investigations in relation to disciplinary outcomes. A total of 54 fitness to practice hearings have taken place in the past six years, with eight doctors prevented from practising medicine in the UK as a result. Ms Scanlon said: "In an organisation the size of the NHS, particularly given the complexity of cases it deals with, there will always be such investigations. But for such a high number to take place, and for that trend to be increasing, it is extremely concerning. Patients and relatives need to know that doctors are performing to the very highest of standards and that when that isn't happening, action is being taken. It is strange that a relatively large number of investigations yield so few disciplinary outcomes. We need the Scottish Government to explain why this is because people will wonder if the hearings aren't stringent enough. But Niall Dickson, chief executive of the GMC, said: "We are not here to protect doctors. Our job is to protect patients. We take every complaint seriously and take immediate action when we believe patients may be at risk. More complaints doesn't necessarily mean healthcare is getting worse. It may mean that problems are being identified and reported. We've seen a shift in culture in recent years with patients, doctors and other healthcare professionals being more willing to voice concerns and health managers more likely to be looking out for problems and taking action. But not every complaint made to us is upheld or results in action being taken against a doctor. The most serious concerns are heard by panels, overseen by a judge, who decide on the evidence presented in each case. These panels, run by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, come to their conclusions autonomously.