Draft fitness-to-practise guidance for PCTs published by DoH
Draft guidance on how primary care trusts should interpret the fitness-to-practise
provisions of the new pharmacy contract has been published by the Department of Health.
At present, the fitness-to-practise procedures, introduced on 1 April,
apply only to contractors but they are expected to be extended to employees
and locums later in the year. The guidance has been issued as a draft
so that it can be amended in the light of experience as PCTs consider
applications.
The document sets out the principles and, in some cases, procedures that
PCTs should follow in order to make fair decisions that protect the interests
of patients without being unfair to contractors and contract applicants.
It states that each case must be dealt with according to individual circumstances
and that PCTs must not impose preferences or prejudices or target particular
businesses because they appear to fit a stereotype. All decisions should
be procedurally robust and likely to be held to be lawful if subsequently
subject to judicial scrutiny.
The draft guidance explains how PCTs should interpret the terms “efficiency”, “fraud” and “suitability” in
the context of fitness to practise. Efficiency, it says, applies to issues
of competence and quality of performance, and fraud to the obtaining
of any benefit without entitlement. Suitability is less well defined
but can apply to the consequences of decisions taken by professional
bodies or courts, to the contents of references and to the absence of
sufficient evidence of satisfactory qualifications or experience. |
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