May 2007
A communication from the General Medical Council
May 2007, Issue 35
What's New?
Welcome
Welcome to the May edition of the GMC e-bulletin.
In this edition there is information on the introduction of a new registration framework for doctors.
Also in this edition, there is news on the GMC work to review and consult on the Seeking Patient’s Consent guidance. In addition, there is an update from our Education Team on the review of Tomorrow’s Doctors and the entitlement of four more UK medical schools to award medical degrees. We also announce plans to hold a seminar to consider how the GMC can take forward key areas in the recent White Paper on regulation of healthcare professionals.
Please continue to send us your feedback, questions and ideas for topics you would like to see covered in future editions.
GMC Seminar on the recent White Paper, Trust, Assurance and Safety, 16 July 2007
This seminar, at which the Minster of State, Lord Hunt of Kings Health has agreed to speak, will focus on the GMC’s plans to take forward key areas in the White Paper, Trust, Assurance and Safety - The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century. The event is aimed at senior representatives from organisations with an interest in the delivery and regulation of healthcare, and provides an opportunity to consider the key policy areas in greater detail.
The programme includes breakout discussion groups on a range of issues such as preparing for the introduction of Licences to Practise; translating Good Medical Practice into an effective framework for relicensing and revalidation; handling concerns about doctors (including changing the standard of proof); and education issues in the context of revalidation. There will be an opportunity to provide feedback and for group debate during the day.
Further details are available from the GMC’s website.
Introduction of New Registration Framework for Doctors
The GMC will be introducing a new registration framework later this year, following changes to the Medical Act (1983) made last year.
The key features of the new framework are summarised below:
- Limited Registration - a category of registration which currently applies only to international medical graduates (IMGs) - will be abolished.
- The new framework of provisional and full registration will apply equally to all doctors no matter where they qualify.
- IMGs will thus in future be able to apply direct for provisional or full registration. They will still need to satisfy a number of criteria before we can grant them registration, but will no longer need an offer of employment beforehand.
- All doctors granted full registration for the first time – UK graduates as well as IMGs – or returning to the register after a prolonged period out of UK practice, will be required to work initially within an approved practice setting.
- Approved practice settings will be organisations which have effective clinical governance systems and which thus provide a suitable environment for newly fully registered doctors. All doctors granted provisional registration will continue to be restricted to working in Foundation Programme posts.
The new framework is founded on the twin principles of assuring patient safety and ensuring equality of treatment for doctors. Amongst other benefits it will mean greater accessibility and clarity for employers, patients and others consulting the register.
Any organisation which employs or contracts with newly fully registered doctors, or doctors returning to the register after a prolonged period out of UK practice, will need to ensure it is an approved practice setting.
The GMC is writing to Trusts across the UK to explain the new system and what organisations need to do next to ensure they comply.
If you would like more information, please email nrf@gmc-uk.org.
Education
The Privy Council has agreed that four medical schools are entitled to issue UK primary medical qualifications from 6 June. Medical degrees can now be awarded from the following:
- University of Warwick
- University of Cardiff
- University of East Anglia
- Peninsula Medical School (a combination of the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth)
Both the Peninsula Medical School and University of East Anglia are new schools. Warwick has acquired the right to issue degrees independent of the Leicester-Warwick combination and Cardiff now has the right independent of the University of Wales.
Examinations held for the degree of Bachelor of Medicine or Bachelor of Surgery from these four medical schools will be qualifying examinations for the purposes of Part II of the Medical Act 1983.
The New Doctor
The New Doctor (2007) is GMC’s guidance for provisionally registered doctors. The outcomes and standards have been revised from those contained in The New Doctor (2005) following a consultation in 2006 by the GMC and PMETB.
The GMC and PMETB have jointly agreed the Standards for Training for the Foundation Programme (the first two years post graduation), which foundation programme providers must meet.
Also agreed are the competency outcomes and from August 2007, provisionally registered doctors must demonstrate these before full registration is granted with the GMC.
A consultation on guidance for doctors - Consent: Patients and doctors making decisions together
The GMC’s Standards & Ethics Team are holding a public consultation on new draft guidance for doctors on issues around consent and good practice in decision-making.
The GMC’s existing guidance on consent, Seeking patients’ consent: the ethical considerations was published in 1998. In January 2006, the Standards and Ethics Committee established a Working Group to review the guidance and ensure that it reflected both the current legal position and the changing nature of the doctor-patient relationship.
The draft guidance produced by the Working Group is broader in scope than its predecessor, placing greater emphasis on how doctors and patients work together to make good decisions, and providing a framework that will apply to the range of situations that doctors face in practice. It also reflects changes in the law, including the new mental capacity legislation and case law that requires doctors to explain the range of risks associated with a proposed intervention.
You can read the draft guidance and take part in the consultation on-line at https://gmc.e-consultation.net/making_decisions.
If you are unable to access the internet, paper copies are available upon request (telephone 020 7189 5404 or email standards.consult@gmc-uk.org).
The consultation will run for three months from Monday 21 May to Monday 20 August 2007.
Doctors: Attend a workshop on consent
There are still a small number of places for doctors at workshops across the UK on consent and decision-making.
As part of the consultation on the new consent guidance we are holding a series of five workshops across the UK in May and June. An invited audience of patients, carers and doctors will be invited to discuss and comment on (or participate in) an acted scenario involving a patient whose capacity to make decisions for themselves is affected by early-stage dementia. The aim of the workshops is to provide an opportunity for doctors, patients and carers to discuss their views and concerns about the issues arising from the scenario.
The first workshop was held in Cardiff on 30 May. Further workshops will be held in:-
- London at the Battersea Arts Centre on Tuesday 5 June 2007
- Belfast at The Baby Grand on Wednesday 6 June 2007
- Glasgow at City Hall on Tuesday 12 June 2007
- Newcastle at Northern Stage on Thursday 14 June 2007
Tea and coffee will be available from 10.30. The sessions will run from 11.00 to 13.00 with lunch provided afterwards.
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