Source: http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/regulation-of-health-and-social-care-professionals/
Timestamp: 2019-06-16 15:26:00
Document Index: 689513402

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'art 2', 'art 3', 'art 4', 'art 5', 'art 6', 'art 7', 'art 8', 'art 9', 'art 10', 'art 11', 'art 12', 'art 13', 'art 14']

Regulation of Health and Social Care Professionals | Law Commission
A review of the UK law relating to the regulation of health care professionals, and in England social workers too. Government accepted the large majority of our recommendations and has published a consultation on reforming regulation.
The primary purpose of professional regulation is to ensure public safety.
In the UK there are nine regulatory bodies responsible for regulating 32 – consisting of approximately 1.44 million professionals.
For healthcare professionals. regulation is one element of a much broader system of ensuring patient and service user care.
But the UK legal framework is fragmented, inconsistent, and poorly understood. There is a wide range of inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies with different regulators having different powers.
Not only that the current system is also cumbersome and expensive. Changes to the regulators’ rules and regulations – including relatively minor changes – must be developed, scrutinised and secured by the Government, and the process can take over two years.
The project originated in the form of a reference from the Department of Health. For more details see the White Paper Enabling Excellence: Autonomy and Accountability for Healthcare Workers, Social Workers and Social Care Workers.
It was a tripartite project between the Law Commission, the Scottish Law Commission and the Northern Ireland Law Commission.
The issues considered by the review included:
The registration and renewal of registration of professionals, student registers, registration appeals, protected titles and protected functions
How the regulators oversee the quality of pre-registration and post-registration education and training
How the regulators set standards for professional conduct and practice, and ensure ongoing practice standards (for example, through revalidation)
The investigation and adjudication of fitness to practise case
Our consultation paper was published on 1 March 2012. The paper contained 111 provisional proposals and 66 consultation questions.
During the public consultation period, we attended 44 events across the UK.
These events covered a wide audience, including patients, health and social care professionals, academics, professional bodies, the regulatory bodies, lawyers, service providers and representatives from charities and campaigning organisations.
At each of the consultation events, we received a wide range of views on various aspects of our proposals.
We received 192 written responses to the consultation paper, from a range of different individuals and organisations. The consultation analysis was published on 20 February 2013.
We published a report explaining and setting out our recommendations on 2 April 2014, together with a draft Bill.
The final report and draft Bill sets out a new single legal framework for the regulation of all health and social care professionals.
new powers for the regulators to make their own rules
a new barring scheme to prevent certain professionals who have committed serious crimes from practising
greater use of mediation in fitness to practice proceedings
consistency across the regulators in the way that fitness to practise hearings are conducted
enhanced duties on the regulators to consult the public and work collaboratively
less Government interference in the rule making process and the appointment of the regulators/PSA boards
The reforms aim to sweep away the out-dated and inflexible decision-making processes associated with the current legislation. The new legal framework would introduce a clear and consistent legal framework which is needed to enable the regulators to uphold their duty to protect the public.
In many areas, the reforms consolidate and simplifies the existing legal framework.
The draft Bill also imposes greater consistency across the regulators in some areas where this is necessary in the public interest (such as the conduct of fitness to practise hearings).
Otherwise the regulators would be given greater autonomy to be able to deliver its functions in a way that is suited to the profession concerned.
This would include broad powers to make or amend rules concerning issues such as registration and renewals, and education, standards and continuing professional development – which are not subject to approval by Government or any Parliamentary procedure.
There would be a requirement on the regulators to consult when considering changes to their rules and a requirement that each regulator must provide information to the public and registrants about its work.
The procedures for making new rules would also be subject to oversight by the Professional Standards Authority.
The draft Bill also reforms the role of Government in professional regulation.
The draft Bill therefore targets Government oversight on key areas where there is sufficient public interest and matters that give rise to questions about the allocation of public resources.
Government is also given default powers to intervene in cases of regulatory failure.
On 29 January 2015, the Government accepted our recommendations that there should be:
greater separation between the regulators’ investigation and adjudication functions
The Government made the announcement by Written Ministerial Statement from Dr Daniel Poulter MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health, and has committed to legislate, when parliamentary time allows, to implement these reforms.
Nicholas Paines QC, Law Commissioner for Public Law in England and Wales, said:
“The framework for promoting high standards of professional practice and behaviour, and holding health and social care professionals to account needs to be brought up to date and made fit for the future.
On 31 October 2017 the Government published a consultation paper which includes many of our recommendations and seeks to builds upon our report.
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Report PDF, 5 MB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Report Summary PDF, 124 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Report Impact Assessment DOC, 430 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Report Equality Impact Assessment DOC, 498 KB
Reference: LC345
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation PDF, 865 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Summary PDF, 141 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Impact Assessment PDF, 466 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Complete PDF, 1 MB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Part 1 PDF, 66 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Part 2 PDF, 163 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Part 3 PDF, 104 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Part 4 PDF, 136 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Reguation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Part 5 PDF, 216 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Part 6 PDF, 167 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Part 7 PDF, 116 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Part 8 PDF, 191 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Part 9 PDF, 229 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Part 10 PDF, 99 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Part 11 PDF, 94 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Part 12 PDF, 103 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Part 13 PDF, 110 KB
Regulation of Health Care Professionals; Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England Consultation Analysis of Responses Part 14 PDF, 75 KB
Reference: CP202
Response date: 31 May 2012