§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her oral statement of 25 April in response to an intervention by the hon. Member for Croydon, North-East, (Mr. Congdon),Official Report, column 700, in what circumstances the provisions of the 408W Medical (Professional Performance) Bill would apply in the case of a single act committed by a doctor falling short of serious professional misconduct. [22408]
§ Mr. MaloneA single incident would come within the performance procedures if the action of the doctor suggested that his general standard of professional performance could be seriously deficient. In those circumstances, the single incident would trigger an assessment to establish whether there was a pattern of serious deficiency.