Parliament promised reform of health regulators
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- Published: Wednesday, 23 December 2015 07:39
- Written by News Editor
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Junior health minister Ben Gummer MP has told Parlaiment that the Government recognises the need for ‘immediate reform’ of healthcare regulation but did not offer any explicit commitments to give the matter parliamentary time. BDA Chair Mick Armstrong said: “It’s good to see warm words on regulatory reform, but what we really need is a timetable”.
Mick continued: “Over one million regulated healthcare professionals remain saddled with antique laws that are unfit for purpose. That’s not a controversial view, it’s the shared position across healthcare. Dentists in particular are burdened by an expensive and ineffective regulator badly in need of reform. We’re pleased government is on the same page, and welcome the commitment to build on the PSA’s work. Rethinking Regulation got it absolutely right in saying that regulators need to focus on the fundamentals of regulation. That means protecting patients, building firm foundations, not succumbing to inexorable mission creep. Ministers must appreciate that every day the current failed framework remains in place hurts patients and practitioners.”
Statement by Ben Gummer MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health on Regulation of Health and Social Care Professionals
The Government remains committed to reform of the regulation of health and (in England) social care professionals. The Government is grateful for the work of the Law Commissions of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in making recommendations and has been considering how best to take these forward.
Our priorities for reform in this area are better regulation, autonomy and cost-effectiveness while maintaining and improving our focus on public protection. We intend to consult on how these priorities can be taken forward, taking account of the Law Commissions’ work on simplification and consistency and building on the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care’s paper Rethinking regulation published in August 2015. We will present proposals that give the regulators the flexibility they need to respond to new challenges in the future without the need for further primary legislation.
We recognise the need for some immediate reform in this area. Subject to Parliamentary time we plan to take forward reforms to regulators’ rule-making process and the way that the larger regulators deal with concerns about their registrants. This will improve accountability and make the system more efficient and effective.
This Government remains committed to the principle of proportionate regulation of healthcare professionals. Having considered the arrangements already in place to ensure that Public Health Specialists from backgrounds other than dentistry or medicine are appropriately registered and qualified, the Government does not consider that extending statutory regulation to this professional group is necessary. To this end, it will not be taking forward secondary legislation in this regard.
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