June 2008
A communication from the General Medical Council
June 2008, Issue 46
What's New?
Welcome to the June edition of the GMC e-bulletin
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Health and Social Care Bill to become Act
The Health and Social Care Bill completed the last of its significant Parliamentary stages on 1 July and is expected to receive Royal Assent within the next few weeks at which stage if will be titled the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
That part of the Bill relating to the GMC falls into two main areas: the establishment of a new independent adjudicator for GMC fitness to practise hearings; and the introduction of 'responsible officers' working for healthcare providers.
The establishment of the Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator, which will take up its powers in 2011, will see the GMC's adjudication function transfer to this new body. The GMC will maintain its current role in setting professional standards and bringing cases when those standards are not being met, but the decision on any sanctions will be taken by panels appointed by this new body, independent of the GMC.
The Bill also provides for a network of 'responsible officers' who will bridge the gap between national regulation by the GMC and workplace regulation. Responsible officers will be based locally and have an oversight role not just for doctors in the health service but also for those in private practice. It is anticipated that in most cases the role of local medical directors closely matches that planned for responsible officers and the posts will be combined.
The Bill also confirmed that in future all healthcare regulators will be required to adopt the civil standard of proof in fitness to practise hearings; the GMC took this step independently of the legislation in May this year.
Scottish Parliament passes Public Health Act
The Scottish Parliament has passed the Public Health (Scotland) Act 2008. The Act governs the use of powers such as quarantine and compulsory medical examinations where a doctor believes that a patient may have a serious communicable disease.
The Scottish Government is currently consulting on whether 'competent persons' making decisions about the use of these powers should always be doctors.
New consent guidance launched
MPs and peers have approved the first of a series of Parliamentary Orders which will implement proposals contained in last year's White Paper Trust, Assurance and Safety.
This order contained a number of provisions including:
- Changes to the Council of the GMC providing for a move early next year to a smaller, wholly appointed Council with equal numbers of professionally qualified and lay members
- Transfer of responsibility for maintaining the list of approved UK medical schools from the Privy Council to the GMC
- New powers to facilitate the registration of suitably experienced individuals in times of civil emergency, such as an influenza pandemic.
New research supports use of patient and colleague questionnaires in revalidation
New research commissioned by the GMC has confirmed that patient and colleague questionnaires may offer a reliable method for assessing the professional performance of UK doctors.
The pilot study, led by Professor John Campbell, Foundation Professor of General Practice and Primary Care at Peninsula Medical School, involved 541 doctors, who were assessed by their colleagues and patients using standardised questionnaires developed by the GMC.
The patient questionnaire focused on gathering the views of patients on a doctor’s communication skills, their ability to explain conditions and treatments and to involve the patient in the decision-making process. The colleague questionnaire asked that colleagues give their views on a number of key issues such as a doctor’s clinical knowledge, teaching skills and prescribing.
The White Paper on the regulation of Health Professionals, published in 2007, confirmed that patient and colleague questionnaires would become a key element in the revalidation of doctors in the future. This new research confirms that patient and colleague questionnaires, developed by the GMC, have potential as a means of collecting information regarding doctors’ performance.
This is an important study as it is essential that any such tools used for assessing the professional performance of doctors, as part of the revalidation process, are adequately researched and validated. The research is part of a larger programme of work to ensure revalidation and its component parts are effective and fit for purpose across different practice settings and across different parts of the UK.
The GMC has now commissioned the research team, led by Professor Campbell, to undertake more in-depth testing of the questionnaires across whole organisations and in different clinical settings. The outcome of this further research will help underpin work on evaluating the professional practice of doctors as part of the revalidation process.
Click here to view the full article in the Quality and Safety in Care journal online
GMC consults on research guidance
The GMC is reviewing the guidance it publishes on involving patients in research.
Our current guidance, Research: the role and responsibilities of doctors, was published in 2002. It sets out the principles governing research together with detailed advice on putting these principles into practice.
The guidance covers the three main ethical issues relevant to good research practice - confidentiality, probity and consent. We are currently seeking preliminary views on the scope and content of the new guidance, which will supplement our recent publication, Consent: patients and doctors making decisions together.
The closing date for responding to the consultation is 11 August.
Click here to take part in the consultation
Changes to guidance on reporting convictions
In 2006 we published supplementary guidance on reporting criminal and regulatory proceedings. The guidance provides advice to doctors about the extent of their duty to report certain criminal and regulatory matters to the GMC.
It requires doctors to notify the GMC if they accept a police caution, are charged with or convicted of a criminal offence, have their registration restricted or are found guilty of an offence by another professional regulatory body.
We have amended the guidance to clarify doctors' obligation to tell us about certain fixed penalty notices and other criminal and civil matters.
The closing date for responding to the consultation is 18 July.
Click here to read the revised draft guidance and take part in the consultation
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