A Christian doctor in the UK is facing the disciplinary action from that country’s medical standards watchdog for discussing his faith with a patient of a different religion.

But the General Medical Council (GMC) is facing a backlash from other Christian doctors.

Dr Richard Scott (pictured), a family GP with 28 years’ experience, is facing disciplinary action and fears he could lose his job after he discussed his faith in Jesus with a patient last year.

The 50-year-old is being investigated by the GMC but Christian doctors rallied to his defence and criticised the way that the professional standards regulator had handled the case.

In 2010, Dr Scott, who works at Bethesda Medical Centre in Margate, Kent, a practice known for its Christian partners, saw a patient at the request of the patient’s mother. He maintains that he only discussed how his faith in Jesus had helped him at the end of the consultation, and with the patient’s consent.

But the GMC wrote to Dr Scott, warning him that he had distressed the patient and risked bringing the profession into disrepute. He has appointed a human rights lawyer to fight the reprimand.

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the GMC, said doctors shouldn’t discuss their personal beliefs with patients “unless those beliefs are directly relevant to the patient’s care”.

“They also must not impose their beliefs on patients, or cause distress by the inappropriate or insensitive expression of religious, political or other beliefs or views,” he said.

Dr Evan Harris, a prominent secularist and member of the British Medical Association’s ethics committee, said he backed the GMC investigation.

“Doctors are frequently in a power relationship over their patients and while plenty of doctors have religious or atheistic views, the consultation room is not the place for the discussion of either,” he said.

However, Dr Peter Saunders, chief executive of the Christian Medical Fellowship, which has 4,000 members including about 2,000 GPs, accused the GMC of having “overreacted” by censuring Dr Scott.

He said the “clear implication” of the GMC guidelines was that a doctor should be allowed to express his personal beliefs in a way that is “appropriate and sensitive”.

Dr Saunders added: “All good doctors try to treat their patients as whole persons, not just biochemical machines. That does sometimes include spiritual matters, dealing with questions of meaning and purpose.”