PRESS RELEASE

6 June 2005

Directive on Recognition of Professional Qualifications: AURE Welcomes Victory on 16 Weeks

6 June 2005: The Alliance of UK Health Regulators on Europe (AURE) today welcomed the adoption by the Council of Ministers of an EU Directive on Recognition of Professional Qualifications. AURE believes that the final text, which approves the European Parliament's Second Reading, represents an important victory for patient safety in Europe.

Since the proposals were first published, AURE has emphasised that patient protection must be a priority for the Directive. It welcomes the fact its main concerns have been addressed and believes the compromise reached represents a significant improvement on the original European Commission proposal.

Sir Graeme Catto, President of the GMC, said:

“AURE is generally very pleased with the final text. In most areas the Directive achieves the right balance between the will to foster free movement of professionals throughout the EU and the need to protect patients' safety effectively, thanks to a number of safeguards, which have been introduced throughout the decision-making process.”

The new Directive aims to simplify existing rules on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications and facilitate the free movement of professionals by consolidating a number of separate pieces of legislation.

Since the launch of the Commission proposal in 2002, AURE has successfully lobbied the European Institutions on behalf of its members to improve aspects of the text. Of particular concern to AURE initially, was the so-called “16 weeks” provision which would have allowed healthcare professionals from any EU country to work for up to four months per year, every year, without being registered with the UK regulator. This would have meant that if there had been a problem with the care, conduct, or competence of a visiting practitioner, the UK regulator would have had no powers to take action against that individual. This is even more serious when one considers the current lack of regulation across the EEA for some health and social care professions. However, this provision was removed by the Council and the Parliament.

According to Jonathan Asbridge of the Nursing and Midwifery Council:

“The removal of the 16 weeks rules was our most important lobbying success. We are very grateful to the Member States and the Members of the European Parliament for taking the concerns of AURE and health regulators across Europe into account.”

A further aspect of the Directive welcomed by AURE is the strengthened provision for the exchange of fitness to practise and disciplinary information among Member State regulators. Nevertheless, AURE believes that further steps must now be taken by regulators across the EU to bring about an effective system of proactive, reciprocal and continuous exchange of information that really functions in practice. *

“The issue of information exchange is of key importance in protecting patients across Europe,” said Hew Mathewson, President of the General Dental Council.

“AURE has long argued that EU initiatives to facilitate the free movement of EEA migrants must be coupled with arrangements guaranteeing the systematic exchange of fitness to practise information between all Member States. Without such arrangements, public protection will be compromised.”

While AURE regrets that some of its remaining concerns on the structure of the committee on the recognition of professional qualifications, status of common platforms and more explicit provisions on the right of regulators to test the language proficiency of migrant service providers are not fully addressed in the final text of the Directive, the Alliance notes that certain progress was made in these areas during the European Parliament Second Reading.

On these, and all other aspects of the Directive, AURE looks forward to working with the Commission and regulators in other Member States to ensure that the new professional qualifications regime functions in practice for the good of both services provision and patient protection across Europe.

ENDS

For further information and interviews with the Alliance spokespeople please contact:

Cathy Irving, AURE, on +44 20 7189 5430

or Richard Marchant, Policy Advisor, AURE on +44 20 7189 5024

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.

3. Additional information can be found on www.aure.org.uk

* AURE is currently playing a leading role in work to improve information exchange being carried out under the auspices of the upcoming UK Presidency of the EU.