Welfare Reform on the Web (October 2000): Medical Professions - UK - Regulation

BARKING MAD

L. Greenwood

Health Service Journal, vol.110, July 13th 2000, p.18

Community Health Councils are making a bid to be placed at the heart of the regulation of the health professions.

PLAN TO REPLACE GMC WITH SINGLE HEALTH WATCHDOG

J. Laurance

Independent, July 17th 2000, p.1

Reports that plans for a single disciplinary body for all the health professions will be included in the government's blueprint for NHS reform. In the longer term, government may introduce a single regulatory body for the medical and nursing professions, merging the functions of the General Medical Council and the UK Central Council for Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors.

RECOVERY POSITION

S. Ward

Health Service Journal, vol.110, July 27th 2000, p.14-15

The General Medical Council (GMC) argues that under-performing doctors can be weeded out through regular revalidation. This would be supervised by the GMC and ensure that doctors are upgrading their skills.

SCANDALS BRING VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE IN GMC

C. Hall

Daily Telegraph, June 30th 2000, p.6

Doctors passed a historic vote of no confidence in the General Medical Council, their regulatory body, for failing to protect patients. Doctors were critical of its slowness, bureaucracy, lack of openness and the way it developed plans for revalidation - a system of checking that doctors were competent and entitled to stay on the Medical Register. Members of the British Medical Association demanded urgent reforms of GMC's structure and functions in consultation with the profession.

(See also Guardian, June 30th, 2000, p.1, and Independent, June 30th 2000, p.1).