GMC consultation on updated personal beliefs guidance

The General Medical Council (GMC) has opened a three-month consultation on revised guidance governing how clinicians manage personal beliefs in clinical practice, marking the first substantive overhaul since 2013.

The draft Personal beliefs and medical practice guidance, published in March 2026, reflects more than a decade of legal, cultural and professional change. It also signals a sharper regulatory focus on communication, patient autonomy, and access to care.

At its core, the updated guidance reinforces a principle familiar to most clinicians: doctors may hold and act in accordance with personal beliefs, but patient care must not be compromised.

A shift toward proactive, belief-sensitive care

One of the most notable changes is a stronger expectation that clinicians actively engage with patients about their beliefs and values. The GMC now emphasises the importance of understanding what matters to patients, including how cultural or religious beliefs shape treatment preferences.

This marks a move away from the more passive framing of the 2013 guidance toward a model aligned with shared decision-making and personalised care.

The draft also provides clearer direction in common but challenging scenarios:

• respecting refusals of treatment grounded in belief
• responding to requests for procedures driven by religious or cultural factors
• ensuring consent, competence and safety remain paramount

Conscientious objection: access takes priority

While the right to conscientious objection remains, the GMC has sharpened its language: objections must never delay or obstruct access to care.

In practice, this means doctors must go beyond simply declining to provide a service. They must ensure that patients can access appropriate care without friction or disadvantage—an area that has historically generated complaints and regulatory scrutiny.

Boundaries around expressing personal beliefs

The updated draft reiterates that doctors must not impose their beliefs on patients and must avoid discussions that risk distress or exploitation. However, it goes further in clarifying that any such discussions must be clinically relevant and professionally appropriate, reflecting increasing concern about blurred boundaries in consultations.

Wider scope: teams, employers and modern practice

For the first time, the guidance explicitly addresses how clinicians should handle belief-related issues with employers and colleagues. This acknowledges that conflicts over personal beliefs are not confined to the consulting room but can affect team dynamics, rota planning and service delivery.

The inclusion of physician associates and anaesthesia associates also reflects the GMC’s expanded regulatory remit.

Implications for fitness to practise

Although the guidance itself does not set out sanctions, it sits squarely within the GMC’s professional standards framework—and departures from it frequently underpin fitness to practise (FTP) investigations.

Cases involving personal beliefs tend to fall into several recurring risk categories:

• Obstructing access to care, particularly in areas such as reproductive health
• Discriminatory behaviour, including refusal to treat certain patient groups
• Inappropriate expression of beliefs, especially where patients feel judged or pressured
• Failure to maintain professional boundaries

As the GMC notes, doctors are expected to justify their decisions and act in patients’ best interests. Where belief-driven actions conflict with these duties, the regulator may investigate, with potential outcomes ranging from warnings to suspension or erasure.

Consultation now open

The consultation runs until 11 June 2026, with the GMC seeking views from doctors, other healthcare professionals and patients before finalising the guidance.

For practising clinicians, the message is clear: personal beliefs remain respected—but only within a framework where patient rights, access, and trust come first.

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