New regulatory council intends to watch disciplinary committees closely
Statutory Committee decisions could be changed by High Court judges |
The Council for the Regulation of Healthcare Professionals (CRHP) intends to watch closely over the shoulder of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Statutory Committee.
All Statutory Committee decisions not to strike off pharmacists who are
found guilty of professional misconduct will be reviewed. The CRHP can
appeal to the High Court against all such decisions. If the Court accepts
the appeal it can quash the decision, impose another or send the case
back to the committee with directions.
In 2001, the most recent year for which figures are readily available,
the Statutory Committee found 31 pharmacists or companies guilty of professional
misconduct, but decided either to reprimand them or take no action. It
also decided to allow the restoration to the register of 10 pharmacists
who had been struck off and directed that two individuals should be registered
who had previously been subject to orders that they should not be registered
without the committee’s permission. All such future decisions will
be reviewed by the CRHP.
The CRHP proposes to require regulators to notify it of all disciplinary
decisions involving professional misconduct so that it can decide whether
the penalty imposed affords appropriate protection of the public. When
professionals have not been struck off it will decide whether there might
be a public protection issue related to the leniency shown. If so, the
regulator concerned will be required to provide details of the case so
that CRHP senior staff and council members can decide whether to appeal.
The new regulatory council will have to move quickly, because the law
requires its appeals to be lodged no more than four weeks after the expiry
of an aggrieved practitioner’s appeal period. Pharmacists who are
ordered to be struck off have three months in which to appeal, but the
CRHP has no interest in these cases. There is no appeal period where
a lesser penalty is imposed, so the CRHP has only four weeks, or as it
sees it 19 working days, in which to conduct a complete case review.
Offences that merit striking-off orders
The Council for the Regulation of Healthcare Professionals says
that it will consider failure to strike off professionals guilty
of the following offences as indicative of undue leniency by
regulatory authorities. The list is not exhaustive.
• Persistent or grave lapses in clinical standards
• Violence, whether in or outside the work context
• Inclusion on a statutory protection register
• Sexual assault, indecency or misconduct, whether in or outside
the work context
• Other grave or persistent lapses of professional standards |
The CRHP expects to review about 350 cases a year across the professions
that it currently supervises. Circumstances that it believes indicate
undue leniency if a practitioner is not struck off are in the Panel.
Jane Wesson, chairwoman of CRHP, said: “We must have a fair and
careful process for deciding to refer any cases to court, so this consultation
is very important. But it covers only a small part of what CRHP has been
set up to do. Our main purpose is to promote the interests of patients
and the wider public in the regulation of the health professions. We
are here to stimulate good practice in regulation and to strengthen the
trust placed in the professionals who care for patients.”
Ann Lewis, Secretary and Registrar of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society,
said: “The CRHP has an important role to play in reassuring the
public. The Society welcomes the opportunity to participate in this consultation.
The Society is represented on the CRHP council, which has been meeting
since April and making encouraging progress. The Society is committed
to ensuring the highest level of probity and transparency in carrying
out our duties as a regulator.”
Comments on the CRHP procedural proposal can be made to
CRHP Consultations
Kierran Cross
11 Strand, London WC2N 5HR
Tel 020 7389 8030
fax 020
7389 8040
e-mail crhpcons@doh.gsi.gov.uk
until 15 December. |
