Summary
This White Paper
'Trust,
Assurance and Safety: The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st
Century' (Cm. 7013) sets out a programme of reform to the UK's system for
the regulation of health professionals.
It contains a number of
proposals with the aim of establishing a transparent system that can be seen to
be independent and accountable and introduces the principle of revalidation so
that registered professionals will have to demonstrate their continued fitness
to practice. There will be changes in the way that problems will be handled.
One of the key issues examined regards ‘fitness to practise’ cases.
When adjudicating ‘fitness to practise’ cases, panels should use civil
standards of proof rather than the criminal standard and the Council for
Healthcare Regulatory Excellence should have enhanced powers to supervise the
regulators' handling of such cases.
The Government agrees that there
should be a separation of investigation and prosecution from adjudication and
will work with the GMC to establish an independent body to adjudicate on
fitness to practice cases involving the medical profession.
Other topics
covered in the White Paper include:
- Education and the role of
regulatory bodies
- Information about health professional regulation for
emerging professions.
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How does it affect me?
If you work in the
health sector, this affects you.
This White Paper furthers the
Department of Health’s programme to reform professional regulation and
clinical governance, making the protection of patients and the public the first
priority of all who are concerned with healthcare.
Read
more
about the White Paper on the Department of Health website.
See a
list of open Department
of Health public consultations.
