For Immediate Release
12.06.03

Health Regulators Call for Dr John Reid to Protect Patient Safety

The Alliance of UK Health Regulators on Europe (AURE) has called on new Secretary of State for Health, Dr John Reid MP, to ensure patient safety is protected.

The Alliance, which represents the 10 UK Health & Social Care Regulatory bodies, is concerned that an EU draft Directive could threaten patient safety.

The draft Directive on the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications includes proposals that would allow healthcare professionals from any EU country to work for up to four months per year, every year, in the UK, without being registered with a UK regulator. In practice this means that if there was a problem with the care a person received, the UK regulators would have no powers to take action against the individual. Nor would there be any means of preventing the same problem from happening again (with another patient).

The Directive also proposes to water down existing public protection safeguards. Each regulator needs to be able to assure the public that everyone coming onto its register is able to practise safely. The Alliance wants to see an effective mechanism put in place, which ensures high standards of practice in education, training and communication across the EU. The current proposals do not meet this need.

Matt Ball, Convenor of the Alliance, said:

'We welcome the appointment of Dr John Reid to his new role as Health Secretary and urge him to take action on this issue to protect patient safety. It is vital that patients have confidence in the practitioners they see and while we welcome free movement of professionals throughout the EU we do not want to see this at the expense of public protection. Health professionals must be required to register with the appropriate regulator'.

ENDS

For further information and interviews with the Alliance spokespeople contact: Matt Ball, Convenor of AURE on 020 7344 4750 or mobile 07909 992 807

Notes to editors:

1. The membership of the Alliance (AURE) is: : General Medical Council General Dental Council General Optical Council General Osteopathic Council General Chiropractic Council, Health Professions Council Nursing and Midwifery Council Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain General Social Care Council and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland.

2. These organisations are statutory bodies that exist to regulate those healthcare professionals who operate in these areas.