Lord Patel has published a draft report setting out 27 proposed recommendations and doctors, employes and patients are encouraged to share their views
A major review of the regulation of doctors’ education and training has published its draft report, setting out 27 proposed recommendations for reform and calling for views from doctors, employers and patients on the way forward.
Commissioned by the General Medical Council and the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board, the independent review, chaired by Lord Naren Patel, spans the entire career of a doctor, from the first day at medical school to the last day in practice.
Its recommendations address the different stages of education and training (undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing practice) and the links between them, as well as the handling of medical graduates from other countries. The recommendations have implications not only for doctors and those involved in their training, but also for patients and for healthcare organisations throughout the UK.
From April this year (following the assimilation of the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board) the General Medical Council will become responsible for the regulation of the entire spectrum of medical education in the UK – the first time a single organisation has been charged with overseeing all stages of a doctor’s career. This provides an opportunity for the GMC to take a long-term look at the future regulation of medical education and training as a whole and to consider how this fits in with its other responsibilities for registration, setting and maintaining standards, and ensuring fitness to practise.
“We have a great opportunity now to create a system in which every stage of education and training is fit for purpose, successfully prepares the doctor for the next one, where standards are constantly rising and which treats all doctors fairly, wherever they come from and whatever stage they are at in their careers. I hope the consultation stimulates debate and encourages as many as possible to comment on the conclusions and recommendations of the draft report. This will help us set the way ahead and ensure a robust approach to the regulation of education and training in the years to come.”
"Lord Patel has made substantial, very positive progress with this initial report of his review. It brings a welcome focus to key medical education issues such the need for a consistent approach to quality assurance and the call for a framework to support the accreditation of trainers. We look forward to the final report and the actions the newly merged medical education regulator can take towards making these happen."
The consultation on the draft report will run until 9 March 2010. Lord Patel is expected to deliver his final report to the GMC at the end of March. It will then be for the GMC to decide how it wishes to take forward the recommendations of the review.
Notes to Editors:
The following areas are covered in the Patel Review:
Approach to education and training
Understanding the ‘continuum of medical education and training’
Selection into medical school
Undergraduate years
Outcomes and entering the profession
Foundation training
Postgraduate education and training
EU and international medical graduates
Locums
Continuing practice
Quality assurance
Members of the Patel Review group :
Lord Naren Patel
House of Lords
Dr Mike Watson
NHS Education Scotland
Professor Jane Dacre
General Medical Council
Professor Janet Grant
PMETB
Dr Has Joshi
PMETB
Dr Johann Malawana
General Medical Council/PMETB
Mrs Suzanne McCarthy
General Medical Council
Dr Mairi Scott
General Medical Council
Dr Anita Thomas
PMETB
Mr Stephen Whittle
General Medical Council
Merger of PMETB with GMC
From 1 April 2010, (subject to legislation) the functions of the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) will be transferred to the GMC, creating a simpler and clearer framework for the regulation of medical education and training.
In February 2008, the Secretary of State announced that PMETB would be merged with the GMC, following a recommendation from Sir John Tooke’s Independent Inquiry into Modernising Medical Careers. Following the merger, all stages of medical education and training will fall under the GMC’s remit. For more information please visit http://www.gmc-uk.org/ or http://www.pmetb.org.uk/
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For further information please contact the Media Relations Office on 020 7189 5454, out of hours 020 7189 5444, email press@gmc-uk.org, website http://www.gmc-uk.org/.
The General Medical Council registers and licenses doctors to practise medicine in the UK. Our purpose is summed up in the phrase: Regulating doctors, Ensuring Good Medical Practice.
The law gives the GMC four main functions:
keeping up-to-date registers 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
Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator (OHPA)
From April 2011, the adjudication of fitness to practise cases involving doctors will transfer from the GMC to a new body called the Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator (OHPA). OHPA is being established under the Health and Social Care Act 2008. It is being created to ensure clear separation between the investigation of fitness to practise cases and the process of determining whether a professional’s fitness to practise is impaired. In simple terms this means the GMC will continue to investigate and where appropriate take and present cases to adjudication panels, but the panels themselves will be run by OHPA.
To begin with, the new body will be responsible for making decisions on fitness to practise cases brought forward by the GMC and, in time, the General Optical Council. Over time, other regulators of healthcare professionals may transfer their adjudication functions to OHPA. For more information about OHPA, please visit http://www.ohpa.org.uk/
The GMC will remain the regulator for doctors, continuing to set the standards for professional practice and receiving and investigating allegations about their fitness to practise.
