LONDON (AFP) - All doctors will undergo annual reviews which could result in them having their licence revoked if they perform badly, under plans set out by the Chief Medical Officer on Wednesday.

Sir Liam Donaldson's report will require GPs, hospital consultants and private practitioners to renew their licences every five years.

Inspectors will use information from patient questionnaires and colleagues to assess whether doctors are sufficiently competent to keep their licence.

Critics of the scheme claim that it will encourage "defensive medicine" whereby doctors are reluctant to take bold action for fear of making mistakes.

Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association, told the Times newspaper: "We want to see a system that is good for patients and fair to doctors.

"The system should not be seen as a tool to weed out the very small number of doctors who underperform, there are other processes in place to do this."

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