Changes to healthcare regulation in the UK

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Changes to healthcare regulation in the UK
2007 Annual Conference

• Janet Flint, Head of Support Staff Regulation,
  Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain

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Trust Assurance and Safety The Regulation of
Healthcare Professionals in the 21st Century
2007 Annual Conference
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Governance and accountability of regulators

• Healthcare regulation councils - no majority for
  professionals
• Both lay and professional members to be appointed
• Greater accountability to parliament
• Councils to become smaller and more board-like

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Governance and accountability of regulators

• For the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, separation
  of regulatory from professional leadership
  functions through the formation of a General
  Pharmaceutical Council
• and a body akin to a Royal College to support
  clinical excellence

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Revalidation

• Revalidation is necessary for all health
  professionals, but its intensity and frequency
  needs to be proportionate to the risks inherent
  in the work in which each practitioner is
  involved.

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Tackling concerns

• For doctors, a network of GMC affiliates at
  regional level in England and national level in
  other parts of the UK to provide support, advice
  and guidance to employers in managing concerns
  and quality assurance of the re-validation
  process.

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Tackling concerns

• For all professions, panels adjudicating fitness
  to practise cases should use the civil standard
  of proof rather than the criminal standard.
• For doctors, legislative agreement to be sought
  to establish an independent body to adjudicate on
  fitness to practise cases.

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Tackling concerns

• CHRE to have enhanced powers to scrutinise
  regulators handling of fitness to practise cases
  and to develop common protocols for investigation
  across the regulators with guidance to employers
  on when a case should be referred to a national
  regulator

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Education

• Non-medical professional regulatory bodies to
  continue to be responsible for the educational
  standards of the professions that they regulate
• Three board model proposed for medical education
  within the GMC

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Information about health professionals

• CHRE to recommend a single standard definition
  of good character
• Regulators to consider whether students and
  trainees should have a close relationship with
  their future regulators prior to qualification

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Emerging professions

• Statutory regulation is planned for applied
  psychologists, several groups of healthcare
  scientists, psychotherapists and counsellors and
  other psychological therapists
• Emerging and existing unregulated professions to
  be managed by the existing statutory regulatory
  bodies and the GPharmC.

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Implications for Pharmacy

• Carter working party

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Carter Working Party Proposals

• GPhC and Royal College fully functional by Jan
  2010
• GPhC will have statutory responsibility for
  education training
• Royal College involved in development of
  professional educational standards, pre-reg
  training, curricula, revalidation
• Royal College should create Academies of
  Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Establishment of a Pharmacy Regulation
  Leadership Oversight Group by the DoH

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What does it mean for the RPSGB?

• Most functions in regulation will move to GPhC,
  continuing the good work the Society is doing
• The professional body will have professional
  membership and will be created to meet the needs
  of members

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Reaction from the RPSGB

• Welcomed the publication of the Carter report
• New arrangements must bring improved patient
  safety and stronger professional leadership for
  pharmacists
• Move to a GPhC and a professional leadership body
  must be properly managed and resourced - both
  the transition and in the long term
• Full consultation required

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Governments proposed timetable

• White Paper working parties, and pharmacy
  oversight group, to start work in July
• Primary legislation on statute book 2008
• Secondary legislation to follow over the next 2-3
  years
• Full changes expected in place 3-5 years

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Contact Information

• Janet Flint, Head of Support Staff Regulation
• Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
• 1 Lambeth High Street, London, SE1 7JN
• Tel [phone]
• e-mail janet.flint_at_rpsgb.org