The Medical Act (21 & 22 Vict c 90), ''An Act to Regulate the Qualifications of Practitioners in Medicine and Surgery'', also referred to as the Medical Act 1858, was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

which created the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by c ...

to regulate doctors in the UK. It is one of the Medical Acts. Describing its purpose, the Act notes that "it is expedient that Persons requiring Medical Aid should be enabled to distinguish qualified from unqualified Practitioners". The Act creates the position of Registrar of the General Medical Council — an office still in existence today — whose duty is to keep up-to-date records of those registered to practise medicine and to make them publicly available. The Act has now been almost entirely repealed. The current law governing medical regulation is the

Medical Act 1983 The Medical Act 1983 (c 54) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which governs the regulation and credentials of the medical profession, and defines offences in respect of false claims of fitness to practise medicine. Detail The act ...

. It stated that under the

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

system

Boards of Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the poor ...

could only employ those qualified in medicine and surgery as Poor Law Doctors. Under a clause in the Act that recognized doctors with foreign degrees practising in Britain,

Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 182131 May 1910) was a British physician, notable as the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United Ki ...

was able to become the first woman to have her name entered on the

Medical Register The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by c ...

(1 January 1859). The act also enabled the

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. The ...

to be given a new charter allowing them conduct dental examinations.

References

{{UK legislation Poor Law in Britain and Ireland United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1858 Medical regulation in the United Kingdom