The Health Care and Associated Professions (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2008

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order makes various amendments to the framework legislation for the regulation of doctors, opticians, osteopaths and chiropractors. Many of the amendments relate to the governance arrangements for the regulatory bodies that regulate those professions. Many of the changes result either in the standardising of practice across the regulatory bodies or in bringing their practice more closely into line with each other.

Schedule 1 contains amendments to the Medical Act 1983. The General Medical Council (GMC) is to be reconstituted, as provided for by an Order of the Privy Council (paragraph 1, 20(b) and 21). Instead of a mix of elected medical, nominated medical and appointed lay members, all of its members will be appointed. If the Privy Council, which is the body responsible for the appointments, directs the Appointments Commission to carry out any of the Privy Council’s appointment functions, it must consult the GMC first. The GMC is responsible for appointing its own statutory committee members but is given new powers to seek the assistance of other bodies with these appointment functions. The new constitutional arrangements also revised duties of co-operation with stakeholders.

A number of amendments are made to the Medical Act 1983 to enable the GMC to maintain an emergency powers doctors list, which will be a list of persons whom the GMC will register temporarily in circumstances where a major emergency such as one involving the loss of human life or illness has occurred, is occurring or is about to occur. Registration will be at the discretion of the GMC’s Registrar, who will be able to attach conditions to the doctors’ registration and remove doctors from the list without going through the normal fitness to practise procedures. Emergency registration will however cease if the Secretary of State advises the Registrar that the circumstances which gave rise to the need for emergency registration no longer exist (paragraphs 2, 9 to 14 and 20(a)).

Amendments are made to Part II of the Medical Act 1983, and consequential amendments are made elsewhere, to change the system for the approval of providers of primary United Kingdom medical qualifications (paragraphs 3 to 8, 17 and 22 of Schedule 1, paragraph 5 of Schedule 2 and paragraph 1 of Schedule 5). Instead of the list of approved providers being set out in the Act, it will be set out in a list maintained by the GMC, who will be responsible for the monitoring of, and potentially the removal of, the bodies or combinations of bodies that are on the list. Whereas only universities could be added to the previous list, the GMC will have the power to include any type of body or combination of bodies in the list (for example, university colleges or medical schools).

Section 35C of the Medical Act 1983 is amended so that the inclusion of a person in a barred list kept by the Independent Barring Board, or in the children’s list or the adults’ list by the Scottish Ministers, becomes a reason for finding that a medical practitioner’s fitness to practise is impaired (paragraph 15).

Section 52A of the Medical Act 1983 is revised so that it contains new arrangements for the annual documentation that the GMC is required to produce: an annual report that includes a description of the arrangements that they have in place to ensure that they adhere to good practice in relation to equality and diversity; a statistical report relating to their fitness to practise functions; and a strategic plan.

Schedule 2 to this Order contains amendments to the Opticians Act 1989. The General Optical Council (GOC) is to be reconstituted as provided for by an Order of the Privy Council (paragraphs 1, 2, 4 and 6). Instead of a mix of elected members who are optometrists or dispensing opticians, nominated medical practitioner members, members nominated by educational establishments and appointed lay members, all of the GOC’s members will be appointed. If the Privy Council, which is the body responsible for the appointments, directs the Appointments Commission to carry out any of the Privy Council’s appointment functions, it must consult the GOC first. The GOC is responsible for appointing its own statutory committee members but is given new powers to seek the assistance of other bodies with these appointment functions. The new constitutional arrangements also include the obligation to keep a register of members’ private interests and duties of co-operation with stakeholders.

Section 13D of the Opticians Act 1989 is amended so that the inclusion of a person in a barred list kept by the Independent Barring Board, or in the children’s list or the adults’ list by the Scottish Ministers, becomes a reason for finding that an individual registrant’s fitness to practise is impaired (paragraph 2).

Section 32A of the Opticians Act 1989 contains new arrangements for annual reports and related documentation. The GOC has to produce: an annual report that includes a description of the arrangements that it has in place to ensure that it adheres to good practice in relation to equality and diversity; a statistical report relating to its fitness to practise functions; and a strategic plan (paragraph 3).

Schedules 3 and 4 contain amendments in very similar terms to the Osteopaths Act 1993 and the Chiropractors Act 1994. The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) and the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) are relieved of obligations to promote their respective professions (paragraph 1(a) of Schedule 3 and of Schedule 4).

The GOsC and the GCC are to be reconstituted as provided for by Order of the Privy Council (paragraphs 1, 5, 6 and 8 of Schedule 3 and of Schedule 4). Instead of a mix of elected members who are registered osteopaths or, as the case may be chiropractors, and appointed members, all their members will be appointed. If the Privy Council, which becomes the body responsible for all of the appointments, directs the Appointments Commission to carry out any of the Privy Council’s appointment functions, it must consult the GOsC or, as the case may be, the GCC first. The new constitutional arrangements for the Councils also include obligations to keep registers of members’ private interests and duties of co-operation with stakeholders.

The constitutions of the statutory committees of the GOsC and GCC are revised: these are left to the Councils themselves to determine in rules. There are powers for the Councils and their statutory committees to determine their procedural rules by standing orders, subject to the requirements of legislation. The Councils will be responsible for appointing the members of these committees, but are given powers to seek the assistance of other bodies with these appointment functions.

Both the GOsC and the GCC are given new powers to make rules allowing onto their registers, for a limited period, some osteopaths or chiropractors with older qualifications that are not currently recognised, subject to certain conditions being satisfied (paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 and of Schedule 4).

Section 20 of the Osteopaths Act 1993 and section 20 of the Chiropractors Act 1994 are amended so that the inclusion of a person in a barred list kept by the Independent Barring Board, or in the children’s list or the adults’ list kept by the Scottish Ministers, becomes a reason for finding that a registrant is guilty of unacceptable professional conduct (paragraph 4 of Schedule 3 and of Schedule 4).

Section 40A of the Osteopaths Act 1993 and section 41A of the Chiropractors Act 1994 contain new arrangements for annual reports and related documentation. The GOsC and GCC have to produce: an annual report that includes a description of the arrangements that they have in place to ensure that they adhere to good practice in relation to equality and diversity; a statistical report relating to their fitness to practise functions; and a strategic plan.

Some consequential revocations of subordinate legislation are also included in Part 2 of Schedule 5. The Order also contains a transitional and a saving provision, and provisions which allow for the making of further transitional, transitory or saving provisions by order of the Privy Council (articles 4 to 7).

An impact assessment has been prepared in relation to this Order and is available from the Department of Health, Quarry House, Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7UE.