• I READ your recent article about Dr Valentine Udoye, (Standing up for black medics, John Gulliver, October 27) and noticed it did not include a response from the General Medical Council.

As Dr Udoye’s hearing has not concluded it would not be right to go into the details of his case. But we are very clear there can be no place for any form of discrimination in medicine.

This includes the way in which black and ethnic minority doctors are referred to the GMC and how those referrals are handled.

To address this we have committed to eliminating disproportionality in fitness to practise referrals from employers based on ethnicity and place of primary medical qualification by 2026. We’ve also introduced a range of initiatives to improve our own fitness to practise processes.

While audits of our decision making have found no evidence of bias, it is important we continue proactively seeking out bias, rather than simply looking for reassurance that it does not exist.

Lastly, addressing disproportionality in fitness to practise referrals is not something we can solve on our own.

That’s why we’re working with employers, training bodies and key stakeholders to make sure the health service is a supportive and inclusive environment, which will be better equipped to train, attract and retain the doctors we have.

Many positive changes are underway, but there’s still much more for us all to do.

JO WREN
Head of GMC London