UK Government’s response to the Law Commissions’ Report on Regulation of Health and Social Care Professionals
Jim Wells, MLA, Minister for Health, Social Services & Public Safety has agreed to publication of the UK Government’s 4-country response to the UK to the Law Commissions’ report on regulating health care professionals in the UK and social care professionals in England.
The response covers:
- the structure of reform
- the make-up of a regulatory body
- registers and registration
- education, standards and practice
- fitness to practise
- the role of the Professional Standards Authority
The response sets out the government’s approach to public protection and how this can be supported by professional regulation.
Extending professional regulation (EPR)
In the White Paper Trust Assurance and Safety: The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century,(the UK White Paper) a working group was formed to develop criteria to determine which new professional roles and emerging professions in health and social care should be statutorily regulated. The Report makes recommendation to Government as to how decision making on extending regulation could be taken forward.
Clinical physiologists - regulation statement
In the White Paper Trust Assurance and Safety: The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century,(the UK White Paper) there was a commitment to take forward the regulation of some groups of healthcare scientists.
One profession within this group, Clinical Physiologists, have now received confirmation that work, leading to statutory regulation, began in June 2009.
Modernising Scientific Careers (MSC)
The MSC project seeks to 'advance the opportunities and recognition of the healthcare science workforce in the UK.’ With a range of radical and ambitious proposals, the project aims to realise benefits for patients, employers and individual members of staff. The MSC proposals were consulted upon during 2009 and a policy document MSC: The UK Way Forward was published on 26 February 2010.
A Working Group representative of key stakeholders has been established by the Department. It is chaired by the Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA) to the Department, Professor Bernie Hannigan.
These proposals are currently under consideration by the Department. A decision on the way ahead has yet to be taken.