§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures there are to ensure that practising doctors keep abreast with advances in medical knowledge; and to what extent these are controlled by his Department.
§ Mr. MellorEvery registered medical practitioner is responsible for keeping up to date with medical knowledge appropriate to his or her chosen specialty. We allocate funds for the provision of courses and other educational activities and for the expenses of attending such activities. The content of educational activities is largely determined by the profession itself.
As the White Paper "Promoting Better Health" states (paragraph 3.48), we propose to introduce a new postgraduate education allowance payable to family doctors who maintain regular programmes of education and training throughout their careers.