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Memoranda of Understanding between the Healthcare Commission and the General Medical Council

October 2006

Introduction

  1. The objective of this Memorandum of Understanding is to outline the framework that the Healthcare Commission and the GMC have agreed for collaboration and co-operation to support the development of a strategic partnership. This will lead to more effective and co-ordinated regulation at both the national level, and in supporting workplace and team based regulation.
  2. The Healthcare Commission is an independent body, set up to promote and drive improvement in the quality of healthcare and public health. It aims to do this by becoming an authoritative and trusted source of information and by ensuring that this information is used to drive improvement.
  3. The General Medical Council registers doctors to enable them to practise medicine in the UK. Its purpose is to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public by ensuring proper standards in the practice of medicine.
  4. The relevant statutory functions of the Healthcare Commission and the GMC are set out at Annex A.
  5. The details of those in the Healthcare Commission and the GMC responsible for the operation of this Memorandum appear at Annex B.

Scope of the Memorandum of Understanding

  1. This Memorandum defines the circumstances in which, and the processes through which, the Healthcare Commission and the GMC will co-operate when carrying out their respective functions.
  2. This Memorandum is additional to, and does not reduce, the separate statutory duties, responsibilities and reporting rights of either organisation, even where they have decided to work collaboratively.
  3. The relevant officers (as named in Annex B) in each organisation will monitor and keep under review areas of co-operation as part of the annual review of the working of this Memorandum.
  4. The proposed scope of the Memorandum is set out at Annex C.

Principles of joint working between the Healthcare Commission and the GMC

  1. The Healthcare Commission and the GMC will work together following the principles of the Concordat between Bodies Inspecting, Regulating and Auditing Health Care and will seek to ensure its effective implementation. The GMC are signatories to the Concordat, and, in addition to the areas covered in the MoU, will continue to work with the Healthcare Commission and other signatories in implementing its principles.
  2. All decisions about collaborative working between the Healthcare Commission and the GMC will be subject to the following general principles:
  • The Healthcare Commission and the GMC will respect each other's independent status and will cooperate when necessary or appropriate;
  • The working relationship of the Healthcare Commission and GMC will be governed by the need to deliver maximum benefits to those using health and other public services; and to work together when this contributes most to improvements in health services;
  • The Healthcare Commission and the GMC will work together to encourage the development of consistent, high quality, accurate information in the NHS and will rely on intelligent data to focus and support their work programmes;
  • The Healthcare Commission and the GMC will be open and transparent in their decisions about when and where it is considered appropriate for them to work collaboratively;
  • The Healthcare Commission and the GMC will work together to optimise regulation. This will include work to develop a system which ensures that healthcare organisations discharge their responsibilities appropriately by, among other things, enabling patients to be assured that the doctors treating them are properly qualified for the role they are undertaking.

Functions covered

  1. The remaining sections of this Memorandum set out the principles and processes which the Healthcare Commission and the GMC will follow when working co-operatively.
  2. Subject to the availability of resources in each organisation, such co-operation will be appropriate in the following key areas:
  • General
  • Cross referral of concerns
  • Expert advice
  • Seeking and giving advice
  • Complaints
  • Training and guidance
  • Contribution to annual reports
  • External communications
  • Sharing resources
  • Co-ordination and exchange of information
  1. This list is not intended to be exhaustive. Additions can be made to the list between annual review dates by agreement between the relevant officials. Any collaborative work undertaken by the Healthcare Commission and the GMC but not identified by this Memorandum should nonetheless be carried out in accordance with the principles outlined in this Memorandum.

Levels of Co-operation

  1. Each organisation, through their respective Chief Executives, undertakes to keep the other informed on matters of strategic mutual interest.
  2. The working relationship between the Healthcare Commission and the GMC will be characterised by regular contact and open exchange of information, including formal and informal meetings at all levels. The relevant officials within each organisation will keep these arrangements under review.
  3. Each organisation commits to developing links at a local level to ensure the effective exchange of information at an operational level.

Sharing of procedures

  1. Each organisation will develop joint procedures where to do so is in the interests of the efficient and effective discharge of their respective functions and the overall co-ordination of healthcare regulation. Decisions about the provision of resources for joint work will be resolved prior to the work being undertaken, and may include pooling of staff or other resources, subject to proper accountability being maintained for their use.

Potential areas for collaboration between the Healthcare Commission and the GMC

General

  1. The Healthcare Commission and the GMC will share information about trends, concerns, data, approaches and initiatives, which are relevant to the shared aim of helping healthcare providers and registered medical practitioners to provide high quality patient care.
  2. The Healthcare Commission and the GMC will share their processes and timetables for strategic planning as far as possible, informing each other at an early stage on their emerging corporate plans and annual programmes of work. This is without prejudice to the need of either organisation to conduct their work, and information shared in this way will be treated as confidential by both organisations.

Cross-Referral of Concerns

  1. Where officials of either organisation encounter significant concerns or receive information about concerns that fall within the remit of the other organisation, the relevant organisation will (subject to any legal restrictions, this Memorandum and any applicable code of practice in relation to personal data) promptly convey those concerns to a person with relevant responsibility in the other organisation. Such concerns might include reports and disclosures, which are protected under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 . Each organisation will then provide the other with such further information and assistance as is reasonable in following up such referrals.
  2. In particular, the GMC will inform the Healthcare Commission of any investigations it conducts which raise significant issues about organisational failure, poor team working or failures in information and appraisal systems.
  3. The Healthcare Commission will inform the GMC of any issues emerging from the reviews and investigations it conducts, and of any specific concerns about an NHS or independent healthcare organisation, which raise significant issues about the fitness to practise of individual registered medical practitioners or the environments in which they are working. In these circumstances, all referrals will be made in consultation with the Senior Medical Advisor at the Healthcare Commission.

Seeking and Giving Advice

  1. Each organisation will, on request, provide advice to the other on matters within its competence, subject to the availability of resources and the absence of conflict with the functions of the organisation requested to provide that advice.

Complaints

  1. Each organisation will share information in relation to their complaints handling procedures and guiding principles for initiating an investigation or assessment. Where appropriate, information will be exchanged in relation to any themes or issues arising from complaints, which may fall within the remit of the other organisation.

Provision of Training and Guidance

  1. Each organisation will, on request, provide material relating to training or guidance to the other on matters within its remit or competence, subject to the availability of resources and the absence of conflict with its own functions or policies.
  2. The Healthcare Commission and the GMC may carry out joint training, or issue joint guidance, where to do so will contribute to more effective and co-ordinated healthcare regulation. Joint training may be developed and/or delivered together as appropriate.

Feedback and Contributions to Annual Reporting

  1. Each organisation will, on request, contribute material to the other's annual or other reports, subject to availability of resources.
  2. The Healthcare Commission and the GMC may produce a joint report on any matter where this is in the interests of the efficient and effective discharge of the functions of each organisation and may jointly collaborate in order to share good practice or learning.

External Communications

  1. Each organisation will involve the other in meetings, conferences and other public discussions relating to collaborative work.
  2. Where appropriate, and where it is in the interests of both the Healthcare Commission and the GMC and those using health services, each organisation will issue joint press releases or public statements on any matters or cases substantially within the remit of both the Healthcare Commission and the GMC. In other circumstances and as appropriate, either organisation will notify or copy to the other in advance of issue any press release or public statement on any matter or case which has some bearing on the other organisation.
  3. Each organisation will also as necessary brief the press office of the other on current issues likely to be of interest to the public.
  4. Each organisation will include on its website relevant links to the website of the other.

Sharing Resources

  1. The Healthcare Commission and the GMC will, where appropriate, actively seek opportunities for collaborative working with the other. The feasibility of sharing or pooling expert advice may be explored, providing that this does not present either organisation with a conflict of interest.

Co-ordination, Consultation, and Exchange of Information

  1. In sharing information under the provisions of this Memorandum the Healthcare Commission and the GMC will comply with all relevant legislation, including, but not limited to, the Data Protection Act 1998, the Human Rights Act 1998, as well as Codes of Practice on confidential personal information of the Healthcare Commission and/or GMC and the common law duty of confidentiality.
  2. Both organisations are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and where either organisation has been subject to a Freedom of Information request that relates to any area of collaborative working they will inform the other. The Healthcare Commission and the GMC will follow the arrangements set out in any agreed protocol for the sharing of information.

Reconciliation of disagreement

  1. Any disagreement between the Healthcare Commission and the GMC will normally be resolved at working level between the relevant officials. If this is not possible, it may be referred upwards through those responsible for operating this Memorandum, up to and including the Chief Executive of the Healthcare Commission and the Chief Executive of the GMC who will jointly be responsible for ensuring a mutually satisfactory resolution.

Review of the Memorandum of Understanding

  1. This Memorandum will be reviewed and renewed annually.

 

 

Signed:

Anna Walker,
Chief Executive,
Healthcare Commission
Finsbury Tower
103-105 Bunhill Row
London EC1Y 8TG

Dated:

 

 

Signed:

Finlay Scott
Chief Executive and Registrar
GMC
Regent's Place
350 Euston Road
London NW1 3JN

Dated:

 


Annex A

Roles and Responsibilities of the Healthcare Commission and the GMC.

Background

The Healthcare Commission was established by the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 (the HSC Act).

The HSC Act confers particular functions with respect to NHS bodies on the Healthcare Commission and the National Assembly for Wales.

Core Responsibilities

Healthcare Commission

The HSC Act imposes on the Healthcare Commission the overall function of encouraging improvement in the provision of health care by and for NHS bodies.

The Healthcare Commission is required to pay particular attention to:

  • the availability of, access to and quality and effectiveness of health care;
  • the economy and efficiency of the provision of health care;
  • the availability and quality of information provided to the public about health care;
  • the need to safeguard and promote the rights and welfare of children and the effectiveness of measures taken to do so.

The main statutory functions of the Healthcare Commission include:

  • carrying out reviews and investigations of the provision of healthcare and the arrangements to promote and protect public health;
  • promoting the coordination of reviews and assessments undertaken by other bodies;
  • publishing information about the state of healthcare across the NHS and the independent sector, including the results of national clinical audits;
  • reviewing the quality of data relating to health and healthcare;

and in England only:

  • reviewing the performance of each English NHS body and awarding an annual rating of that organisation's performance;
  • regulating the independent healthcare sector through annual registration and inspection;
  • carrying out comparative studies aimed at improving economy, efficiency and effectiveness in English NHS bodies other than Special Health Authorities;
  • considering complaints about NHS bodies that they have not been able to resolve through their own complaints processes;
  • publishing surveys of the views of patients and staff.

GMC

The GMC'sstatutory and charitable purposes are to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public by ensuring proper standards in the practice of medicine. It does this by:

  • Keeping an up to date register of qualified doctors
  • Fostering good medical practice
  • Promoting high standards of medical education
  • Dealing firmly and fairly with doctors whose fitness to practise is in doubt

 

Annex B

Contact details for those responsible for operating this Memorandum:

The Healthcare Commission

For any information/complaint/concern relating to an individual doctor/doctors:

Dr Nicholas L Bishop
Senior Medical Advisor
Finsbury Tower
103 – 105 Bunhill Row
London EC1Y 8TG
Tel: 0207 448 9484
Nick.bishop@healthcarecommission.org.uk

For any communication issue:

Alexa Knight
External Relations Manager
Tel: 020 7448 4541
Alexa.knight@healthcarecommission.org.uk

For any MoU or general issues:

Mary Keane
Clinical Strategy, UK Engagement & External Agreements
Tel: 020 7448 9231
Mary.keane@healthcarecommission.org.uk

The GMC

For any information/complaint/concern relating to an individual doctor/doctors:

Shaun Moggan
Investigation Manager
020 7189 5129
smoggan@gmc-uk.org

For any communication issue

Stephanie McNamara
Media Relations Manager
020 7189 5426
jwren@gmc-uk.org

For any MoU issue, or strategic/forward planning issues:

Helen Chandler
Strategy and Planning Advisor
020 7189 5027
hchandler@gmc-uk.org

 

Annex C

Scope of the Memorandum of Understanding

This Memorandum does not place additional legal obligations on either organisation, nor does it imply any transfer of responsibility from one to the other, nor sharing of statutory functions. In operating within the terms of this Memorandum, each organisation will continue to work within their respective statutory framework and functions at all times.

Equally, either organisation can decline a request to collaborate on a specific piece of work on the grounds of efficiency or effectiveness or because to do so is deemed either not to be in the best interests of those using services or directly conflicts with either organisation's statutory duties, policies or functions.

 

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