§ Mr. Pavittasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will now make an announcement about the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Medical Education on postgraduate medical education.
§ Mr. CrossmanThe Government's consultations with interested organisations about the Royal Commission's recommendations in the field of postgraduate medical education have shown widespread acceptance that a system of vocational, or 439W specialist, registration should be introduced on the lines recommended in the report. The General Medical Council has indicated their willingness to undertake the rôle of registration authority, subject to amendment of the Medical Act to widen its powers. The Government accordingly intend to introduce the necessary legislation as soon as possible to enable the General Medical Council to maintain specialist registers.
Secondly, all concerned agree in seeing a need for a new central body to coordinate the planning of postgraduate medical training, to consider its future and to give advice to the bodies already active in this field. Together with my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Education and Science and the Secretary of State for Wales I shall therefore shortly be inviting the main interests to a meeting to consider and, I hope, agree detailed proposals for the establishment of a Central Council on Postgraduate Medical Education which I would hope to see in operation during the course of this year. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland will be taking similar action with a view to setting up a separate Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical Education.
The introduction of a system of specialist registration and the establishment of a Central Council will provide the organisational framework to implement the necessary improvements in postgraduate medical education, recommended by the Royal Commission and to which I attach considerable importance. I intend to accord these developments a high priority within resources available for the health service.
The Government accept the Royal Commission's view on how the cost should be divided—namely that the National Health Service should pay for professional postgraduate training for National Health Service doctors and the universities for academic training.