Wednesday, 21 Feb 2007 11:27
Harold Shipman is thought to killed over 200 of his patients
Doctors are set to have regular checks on their work under proposals announced today in a government white paper.
Following an inquiry into the medical profession the government plans to carry out widespread reform of regulating standards.
Under the plans doctors will have to prove their fitness to practice every five years in MOT-style checks. Death certification also faces stricter regulation.
The General Medical Council (GMC) would have its adjudication function with elected doctors removed and be replaced with a GMC council made up of 50:50 lay and medical members.
In fitness to practice cases doctors could be convicted on a civil standard of proof on a sliding scale rather than the previous criminal standard of proof.
It is hoped that the plans will prevent cases of patients being harmed by their doctors' treatment; the most high-profile of these occurred when Greater Manchester GP Dr Harold Shipman killed over 200 of his patients.
Along with the reforms proposed in the white paper today the government has published new plans to safeguard patients following the fifth report of the Shipman inquiry.
Announcing the white paper, health secretary Patricia Hewitt said: "The past decade has seen much debate, sometimes heated, about the future of professional regulation. The white paper provides an opportunity to put an end to those debates and move forward positively and in partnership in the future.
"These changes are radical and significant and offer the opportunity for a long term settlement. They enable us to put an end to the disagreements of the past and to focus clearly on patient safety and public and professional confidence."
The proposals have been met with a cautious response from the British Medical Association (BMA), which said that "doctors as well as patients need to have confidence in any new system if it is to work".
Mr James Johnson, chairman of the BMA, said: "Doctors need to have confidence that the regulatory system will lead to support and retraining if necessary and not be merely punitive. Sadly the white paper proposals could lead to a climate of defensive medicine in which doctors are forever looking over their shoulders instead of concentrating on working in the best interest of their patients."
Professor Sir Graeme Catto, president of the GMC, said that a number of reforms had been made in the wake of the Shipman affair but that the council would fully cooperate with further changes.
"Regulation is a dynamic process - it should not stand still. It must be scrutinised, challenged and improved to take account of our changing society and the changing healthcare environment," he said.
"Our priority now is to end the uncertainty for patients and doctors. We believe we can do that. We look forward to working with all those who must be placed at the heart of the regulatory system - patients and the public, doctors, the medical schools and royal colleges, the NHS and other healthcare providers."