Whilst the proposed reforms will begin with the General Medical Council, the consultation states that the Government will implement similar reforms to the other regulators. The reforms are far-ranging, and the consultation was extensive with over 70 detailed questions.
The consultation follows a consistent theme of discussing greater powers upon the regulator but seemingly without tangible effective oversight. This lack of oversight and the potential consequence is the PDA’s overarching concern around all 4 areas of proposed major reform. These 4 areas are:
- Governance
- Education
- Registration
- Fitness to practice
As part of the governance reforms, the proposal is to remove any requirement for professional representation in the newly proposed board structure for regulators. A unified board would include the CEO and an independent chair together with non-executive directors but with no requirement for any registrant members.
The education reforms propose giving all regulators power to issue warnings or impose conditions to education and training providers. The reforms also seek to give regulators the power to accredit an institution or a course without the need for an on-site inspection.
The registration section proposed a single register with annotations and sought views on whether regulators should operate a non-practising register.
There are also significant changes proposed around how regulators approach fitness to practice concerns, and the consultation sought to achieve some consistency in the steps that regulators would take on receipt of a concern. These proposals have a potentially high impact on both the public and registrants.
The PDA will continue to engage with stakeholders and the Government to ensure that the reforms work fairly for both the public, students, and registrants of all healthcare professions.
Read the full PDA response here:
Read the DHSC consultation document here:
The consultation closed on 16 June 2021.
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