Doctors' register goes online

The GMC licenses doctors to practice in the UK

Cases of doctors who practice without the proper qualifications could become rarer following a new initiative by the General Medical Council (GMC).

The GMC, which is responsible for licensing doctors to practice in the UK, has posted details of doctors' qualifications on its website.

More than 200,000 doctors are registered with the GMC, which acts as a governing body.

GMC spokesman David Morris-Johnson said the new service was evidence of the organisation "moving with the times".

"This will have two benefits for patients. They will be able to check themselves if they are going to see a doctor to make sure he is properly registered.

"And employers will be able to check much more easily and regularly that a doctor's registration is still current," Mr Morris-Johnson said.

The online records were simply an extension of the register already published by the GMC, he added.

Visitors to the GMC's website will be able to look up doctors by name or registration number, find out when they qualified and which university they attended.