We welcome the publication of the Government response to the 2021 consultation on reforms to the powers and governance of the healthcare professional regulators, and the launch of the consultation on legislation for the General Medical Council (GMC).
This legislation will pave the way for reform across the sector, while bringing Physician Associates (PAs) and Anaesthesia Associates (AAs) into regulation under the GMC. As the consultation notes, the draft legislation will become the template for reforms to all healthcare professional regulators and we would therefore encourage anyone with an interest in this area to respond to the consultation, which closes on 16 May 2023.
We have been calling for reforms to the outdated and piecemeal legislation of the healthcare professional regulators. We believe that these reforms should be taken forward for all regulators as soon as possible whilst focusing on public protection and maintaining an appropriate balance between flexibility and accountability.
In our recent report Safer care for all, we outlined some of the major challenges that remain across health and social care and the potential role of professional regulators to do more in these areas. These reforms, which will be replicated across the healthcare professions, are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to give regulators the tools they need to help tackle these big challenges.
We will be examining the consultation in detail and responding in due course. We welcome the Government’s ongoing commitment to these reforms and will work with the Department of Health and Social Care, Devolved Administrations, regulators and all stakeholders to progress them as swiftly as possible in a way which supports real improvements in public protection.
We also look forward to further discussions with the Government and stakeholders about how our own role will need to evolve in response to the reforms. We are currently consulting on a new three-year Strategic Plan which outlines our intention to review our own approach to ensure we can continue to provide highly effective oversight and respond to any new risks emerging during the period of reform and in the post-reform landscape.
ENDS
Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care
Contact: media@professionalstandards.org.uk
Notes to the Editor- Social Work England is currently outside the scope of the legislative reform programme.
- The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care oversees 10 statutory bodies that regulate health and social care professionals in the UK.
- We assess their performance and report to Parliament. We also conduct audits and investigations and can appeal fitness to practise cases to the courts if we consider that sanctions are insufficient to protect the public and it is in the public interest.
- We also set standards for organisations holding voluntary registers for health and social care occupations and accredit those that meet them.
- We share good practice and knowledge, conduct research and introduce new ideas to our sector. We monitor policy developments in the UK and internationally and provide advice on issues relating to professional standards in health and social care.
- We do this to promote the health, safety and wellbeing of users of health and social care services and the public. We are an independent body, accountable to the UK Parliament.
- Our values are – integrity, transparency, respect, fairness and teamwork – and we strive to ensure that they are at the core of our work.
- More information about our work and the approach we take is available at www.professionalstandards.org.uk