GMC chief executive Charlie Massey told the committee that the government will consult 'within the coming weeks' on legislation to drive through changes around medical regulation, some of which have been pending for years.

The planned changes will include formally renaming physician associates as physician assistants - as recommended by the Leng review last year - and implementing a long-overdue recommendation to strip the GMC of its power to appeal against decisions made by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.

Consultation is likely to begin soon so that it can be completed before pre-election purdah begins, around a month ahead of Scottish and Welsh elections in early May, Massey said.

He predicted that the legislation would be passed by the end of the year.

In response, Tom Reynolds, director of policy and communications at the Medical Defence Union, said: ‘We want to see reform at the GMC. Hundreds of doctors are facing fitness to practise proceedings that last more than a year and there are concerns across the profession about this. The MDU has been banging the drum on this for years, and now is the time for reform.

‘It was reassuring to hear the GMC's chief executive acknowledge these issues and outline plans that would allow cases to be handled more quickly and proportionately. This is welcome. But for more ambitious reform, we need to see amended legislation. The MDU looks forward to contributing to the forthcoming consultation on that, because it is vital that this is got right. Doctors deserve a fairer, faster and more flexible system.'