§ Mr. CatonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to improve Governmental supervision of the work of the General Medical Council. [100738]
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§ Ms StuartWe have stated our commitment to professional self-regulation of the healthcare professions, provided such arrangements can be modernised to offer patients appropriate protection.
We will work with the professions, the regulatory bodies, the National Health Service and patient representative groups to strengthen the existing systems of professional self-regulation by ensuring that they are open, responsive and publicly accountable.
The General Medical Council is making good progress in its proposals to introduce arrangements for the revalidation of doctors' registration. These will be underpinned in the NHS by arrangements for continued professional development announced in "A First Class Service" and the Chief Medical Officer's proposals for the annual appraisal of all NHS doctors announced in "Supporting doctors, protecting patients". The same document set out the modern principles of professional self-regulation against which the General Medical Council and other bodies will be judged.