BMJ (formerly British Medical Journal) is an editorially independent journal published weekly by a subsidiary of the British Medical Association (BMA). Its web site provides abstracts and full text of all articles published January 1994 onwards, searchable by author, word(s) in title or abstract, or word(s) anywhere in article. Not all content is free: access to some material, particularly the more recent, is restricted to subscribers.

The British Medical Association (BMA) is the professional organisation representing doctors in all branches of medicine in the UK. The Medical Ethics section of its site includes various BMA reports, guidelines and discussion papers concerning medical ethics.

This site provides free basic information on social and health care law and practice in the UK. Its “Care and Health Law database” includes full text of relevant legislation, case digests and articles. For those requiring in-depth analysis there is also a subscription option. The site, produced by solicitor and former barrister Belinda Schwehr, is updated weekly.

CSSIW is the body responsible for regulating and inspecting establishments and agencies which provide social care services in Wales. Links to legislation are provided in the section "The Law". Other sections have inspectorate reports, annual reports, newsletters, information leaflets, and details of the complaint procedure.

The Care Council, set up under the Care Standards Act 2000, is responsible for registering and regulating social workers and social care workers in Wales. Its online register is searchable. The "Registration and Conduct" section provides access to the register and includes codes of practice and guidance on the complaint procedure. Other site content includes consultations, recent annual reports, newsletters and e-bulletins.

The Care Quality Commission regulates all health and adult social care in England, and protects the rights of people detained under the Mental Health Act. Established under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, it replaced the Commission for Social Care Inspection, the Healthcare Commission and the Mental Health Act Commission on 1 April 2009. The site provides background information, consultations, guidance and other documents, including key publications of the bodies it replaced.

The Care Tribunal was established under the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 to hear appeals against decisions relating to the regulation of care services and to the employment and registration of social workers in Northern Ireland. Information on its web site includes links to legislation on the OPSI site and published decisions to date.

The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE), formerly the Council for the Regulation of Healthcare Professionals (CRHP), promotes best practice and consistency in the regulation of healthcare professionals by nine regulatory bodies. This includes reviewing their disciplinary decisions and, where considered appropriate, referring them to the High Court. Its web site has reports, the CHRE's annual report to Parliament, and links to relevant legislation on the OPSI web site.

The Department of Health is responsible for government policy on health, social care and the National Health Service in England. (In the rest of the UK these responsibilities fall to the devolved governments.) The web site has policy, guidance and consultation documents, statistics, news stories and press releases. Letters and circulars (including both current and obsolete circulars, 1995 onwards), together with information on health legislation (with links to texts), may be found in the "Publications and Statistics" section.

The First-tier Tribunal (Care Standards) hears appeals under the legislation relating to the care of children and vulnerable adults. Established originally under the Protection of Children Act 1999 as the Care Standards Tribunal, it has since 3 November 2008 formed part of the First-tier Tribunal's Health, Education and Social Care Chamber. There is background information about the Tribunal and its jurisdiction; links to relevant legislation; guidance on the appeals process and procedures; forms; and published decisions April 2001 onwards.

Primary Health Lists became a jurisdiction within the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal on 18 January 2010, taking over the role of the former Family Health Services Appeal Authority (FHSAA). It hears appeals from providers of primary health care against suspension or removal from health authority lists. The site has procedural information and guidance, relevant legislation, recent annual reports, details of forthcoming cases ("Fixtures"), a searchable case digest, and decisions June 2004 onwards.

The General Chiropractic Council (GCC) regulates chiropractors throughout the UK. The site's Publications section has annual reports, fitness to practise reports, newsletters, press releases, standards, and the full text of the Chiropractors Act 1994 and related subsidiary legislation. Details of decisions relating to registration and professional conduct may be found within the Complaints section.

The General Dental Council (GDC) regulates all dental professionals in the UK. The Dentists Register and Rolls of Dental Auxiliaries are searchable on its web site. Also on the site are "Standards for Dental Professionals" and other guidance documents; the GDC's various Rules; information on complaints procedures; and details of outcomes of recent hearings of the Professional Conduct Committee.

The General Medical Council (GMC) registers doctors to practise medicine in the UK. The List of Registered Medical Practitioners, a register of doctors who are eligible to work in general practice in the health service in the UK, may be searched on its site. It includes any publicly available fitness to practise history since 20 October 2005, and there is also a separate search facility for recent fitness to practise decisions. Relevant legislation, including a consolidated version with amendments of the Medical Act 1983, is to be found in the "About us" section. The "Guidance on Good Practice" section has both current guidance documents and an archive going back to 1963.

The General Optical Council (GOC) regulates dispensing opticians and optometrists and those bodies corporate carrying on business as optometrists or dispensing opticians. Its Register is searchable online. A Legislation section within "About Us" has the Opticians Act 1989 and rules and regulations made under that Act, and codes of conduct can be found under "Policies, Procedures and Protocols". Decisions and transcripts from disciplinary hearings 2005 onwards can be found under "Hearings" within "Our Work".

The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) regulates the profession of osteopathy and maintains the statutory register of osteopaths. The register is searchable online. Other site content includes the Osteopaths Act 1993 and secondary legislation; the current code of practice and other guidance; information on the complaint procedure and recent findings; and recent annual fitness to practise reports.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has been created to replace the Royal Pharmaceutical Council of Great Britain as the regulator for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises from 2010. A launch date has yet to be set, dependent on the parliamentary timetable. Its web site provides information on the regulatory changes and includes links to legislation and various background documents.

The General Social Care Council (GSCC) registers social care workers in England and regulates their conduct and training. There is a searchable online Social Care Register. The codes of practice for social care workers and employers of social care workers, both of which apply not just in England but throughout the UK, are available as downloads.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a non-departmental public body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare in England, Wales and Scotland. The site's Legislation section includes lists of relevant Acts and Statutory Instruments, with links where possible to OPSI texts, together with the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 amended to September 2006. The Enforcement section has searchable databases of enforcement notices issued by HSE and of successful convictions obtained from HSE prosecutions. Other content includes consultations 2000 onwards, guidance, codes of practice, annual reports 2001/02 onwards, leaflets, newsletters, and press releases.

The Health Professions Council (HPC), established under the Health Professions Order 2001, currently regulates members of fifteen professions in the UK, including chiropodists, dietitians, paramedics, physiotherapists, radiographers and practitioner psychologists. There is a searchable online Register. The Publications section has both the original and consolidated (with amendments to date) versions of the Health Professions Order 2001, rules, standards and annual reports. The Complaints section has information on the complaint procedure and details of recent fitness to practise hearings.

The Healthcare Inspectorate Wales promotes improvement in the quality and safety of patient care within NHS Wales, and is also, since 1 April 2006, the regulator of independent healthcare in Wales. Publications include healthcare standards and the text of all reviews and investigations which it undertakes. There are links to legislation in the "About Us" section. The "Site Index" provides an A-Z index and a "document map" in addition to a conventional site map.

Resource Information Service, a specialist information charity, produces this site which provides details of publications and training on Homelessness. The “Subjects” tab includes access to a legislation section, and “Keywords” includes a legal issues category.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) was created in 1991, under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, to regulate safe and appropriate practice in fertility treatment and human embryo research. Its Code of Practice, Directions and other guidance documents are to be found in the section "For Clinic Staff and Other Professionals". Documents elsewhere include annual reports, research reports, news items and press releases.

The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) was set up under the Human Tissue Act 2004 to regulate the removal, storage, use and disposal of human bodies, organs and tissue from the living and deceased. Site content includes a section devoted to transplantation matters, licensing guidelines, codes of practice, details of current and closed consultations, media releases and news stories. Publications include annual reports, leaflets, and a regular e-newsletter. There are links to the Human Tissue Act 2004 and regulations made under it, and to the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006.

This independent inquiry, chaired by Nigel Pleming QC, was concerned with the sexual abuse of psychiatric patients. It inquired into how NHS services in Yorkshire dealt with concerns raised about two consultant psychiatrists, Dr William Kerr and Mr Michael Haslam. The full report of the inquiry, published 18 July 2005, is accessible from this page of the Department of Health web site.

Online medical law journal, founded in 1998 by barrister Geoffrey Hall. Several sections, including "Medical Litigation Cases", a database of over 1700 full text decisions, and "Medical Litigation", a database of over 230 articles, are available only to subscribers (or to non-subscribers upon payment per document). The "News" section (January 1999 onwards) can be viewed for free. The site is updated daily.

The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health, formed in 2003 from a merger of the Medical Devices Agency and the Medicines Control Agency. The site contains information, news and documents relating to the regulation of medicines and medical devices. Within "Committees" there are sections devoted to associated advisory bodies, including the Commission on Human Medicines and the British Pharmacopoeia Commission, containing annual reports and other material.

The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA), a Special Health Authority, is responsible for handling negligence claims made against NHS bodies in England. It also monitors human rights case law on behalf of the NHS. Publications on the site include a Human Rights Act Information Service Newsletter and a set of Human Rights Casesheets. There is also information on the dispute resolution work of the FHS Appeal Unit, with details of cases decided in the past six months.

The Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC) is the body responsible for regulating and registering the social care workforce in Northern Ireland. Select "Registration" both for information and guidance on registration and to access the searchable register itself. Content elsewhere includes codes of practice, the Conduct Rules, consultations, and details of the complaint procedure.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) regulates nurses and midwives in the UK and maintains a register of qualified nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses. The register is searchable online. The site's Fitness to Practise section includes details of hearings and decisions; links to legislation; fitness to practise annual reports; the NMC code of conduct; and circulars.

The Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator is expected to become operational in April 2011. It has been set up under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 to take over the adjudicatory functions in fitness to practise cases initially from the General Medical Council and later also from the General Optical Council. Site content to date includes news, policy and procedural documents and FAQs.

Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) inspects education and training for learners of all ages except those in higher education institutes and universities. Since 1 April 2007 it has also been responsible for the registration, regulation and inspection of children's social care in England. All of its inspection reports are published on the site. Other sections provide news, forms and guidance, consultations, statistics, and annual reports 1995-96 onwards.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Health Service Ombudsman (two separate posts, held by the same individual) investigate complaints about government departments and agencies and certain other public bodies in the UK, and the National Health Service in England. The site contains information on the complaint procedure, links to relevant legislation, and documents, including reports and press releases.

The Society is the regulatory and professional body for pharmacists in Northern Ireland, exercising statutory powers and duties under the Pharmacy (Northern Ireland) Order 1976. The register is searchable online. Other content includes a Legislation section (containing the 1976 Order, byelaws and standing orders), the Code of Ethics, and details of the complaint procedure. A Fitness to Practise section has details of recent hearing outcomes.

The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) is the independent health and social care services regulator for Northern Ireland. Its site provides links to relevant legislation on the OPSI site, including the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003, under which RQIA was established in 2005.

This research guide published on the GlobaLex site comprises mainly links - to institutions, treaties and other documents - relating to international health law, together with a selected bibliography of books and articles. It was prepared by Chenglin Liu of the O'Quinn Law Library at the University of Houston. This is an updated version of January/February 2010: the original guide dated August 2006 is also available.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons in the UK, with statutory responsibilities set out in the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966. The text of the Act is downloadable, and there is information and advice on recent legislative changes of relevance to veterinary surgeons. The Guide to Professional Conduct is reproduced in full, and there is a searchable register of members. Information on the complaints procedure and details of disciplinary proceedings, including findings and judgments 2004 onwards, are to be found in the site's Visitors section.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) is the professional and regulatory body for pharmacists in England, Scotland and Wales. There are searchable registers of members, of pharmacy technicians and of premises. Documents on the site include byelaws, rules and regulations, and its Code of Ethics and Standards. Recent determinations are to be found in the "Protecting the Public" section. There is also information on the General Pharmaceutical Council, the new regulator planned for 2010.

The Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care was established under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 to regulate all adult, child and independent healthcare services in Scotland. Extensive documentation on the site includes guidance, inspection reports, memorandums of understanding, documents relating to registration, inspection, complaints and enforcement, and news. Links are provided to relevant legislation on the OPSI site.

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) is responsible for regulating and registering the Scottish social service workforce. Its register is searchable online. The "Registration and Conduct" section has the codes of practice and the Conduct Rules, and there is a link in "What we do" (in the "About Us" section) to the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001, under which SSSC was set up. Other content includes consultations, details of the complaints procedure, and news.

Harold Shipman, a former doctor, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2000 for the murder of fifteen of his patients, and died in prison 13 January 2004. Following allegations that he may have murdered many more, a public inquiry was set up under the chairmanship of Dame Janet Smith DBE. This web site provides full documentation on the inquiry, including the six reports published between July 2002 and January 2005.

Independent inquiry set up to investigate the circumstances leading to the death of Victoria Climbié, aged 8, while in the care of her aunt and her aunt's lover. As well as the final report by Lord Laming, published January 2003, the site provides background information and transcripts of evidence.