Committee briefing: Health regulation

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ePolitix.com reports on the Commons Second Delegated Legislation Committee's scrutinny of the draft Health Care and Associated Professions (Miscellaneous Amendments and Practitioner Psychologists) Order 2009.

The second delegated legislation committee met to consider the draft Health Care and Associated Professions (Miscellaneous Amendments and Practitioner Psychologists) Order 2009.

The health minister has stated that the regulations will enhance confidence in the ability of regulatory bodies to protect the public and deal with poor professional standards of healthcare.

Ben Bradshaw said that high profile incidents such as those involving Harold Shipman have led to doubts about the partiality of regulatory bodies, which in turn undermine the confidence in health professions.

He said that the regulations include provisions to amend the framework legislation for the regulation of dentists, dental care professionals, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and those professions regulated by the Health Professions Council (HPC).

The minister added that changes to the governance arrangements of the General Dental Council (GDC) and HPC include moving each of the bodies from a partially-elected council to a fully-appointed and independent council.

But the shadow health minister Anne Milton expressed her concern at the lack of clarity in the regulations.

She said that physiologists fully support the legislation but feel that the government is dragging its feet.

Milton highlighted that under the regulations, not all psychologists would be granted automatic entry under the HPC. She argued that the Department of Health has taken a narrow view in recognising and regulating only one form of psychologists.

She said that statutory regulation must result in safe and effective conduct, and command the confidence of both the public and the professionals who will work within the regulatory regime.

However, she said that the British Psychological Society fears that the statutory instrument will not achieve its purpose of protecting the public from the full range of psychologists.

Liberal Democrat shadow health minister Greg Mulholland expressed his support for the statutory instrument.

And Rob Wilson (Con, Reading East) expressed his concern that the legislation will compromise public protection.

He argued that the statutory registration and regulation of psychologists will lead make it almost impossible to distinguish between qualified, regulated psychologists and those with almost no training.

“The proposal completely fails to protect vulnerable members of the public using psychologists,” he said.

Bradshaw replied that the department addresses the regulation of health professions on a risk basis. He said that it is the department and HPC’s responsibility to determine where the most risk lies to the patients.

The minister added that the department is loathed to regulate for the sake of regulation.