Health Foundation supports regulation plans
The Health Foundation has supported the Government’s plans for the regulation of the NHS and healthcare professionals, as outlined in the recent Queen’s speech. The proposals were endorsed by MPs at a debate in the House of Common on Tuesday.
The measures outlined in the Queens’s Speech included the Health and Social Care Bill, which will create Care Quality Commission – a unified regulator for health and social care. The Bill will also take some of the first steps towards the much needed modernisation of regulation for healthcare professionals.
“Research we funded shows that the existing regulatory arrangements are an ineffective way of ensuring healthcare quality,” the Health Foundation’s Assistant Director Wendy Buckley said.
“The Shipman Inquiry, as well as the Ayling, Neale and Kerr/Haslam Inquiries, all set out a range of recommendations to improve regulation of professionals and to ensure the best care for patients. These recommendations need to be implemented now.”
The Foundation believes that revalidation for healthcare professionals is an essential part of any modernisation process.
For doctors, this would have two components: the first part would be a license to practice, while the second part, for specialist doctors or GPs, would be re-certification with a Royal College or specialist society.
“Clinical audits are a proven way of making professional activity accountable to patients and the public,” Wendy continued.
“We are calling for participation in national clinical audits to be made an essential part of recertification of doctors. This would send a clear signal that clinical measurement is critical to understanding an individual’s performance and is a core part of professional practice.”
The Health Foundation has written to MPs and healthcare professional bodies asking them to support revalidation for healthcare professionals.
