§ Mr. BurnettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce legislation to require the General Medical Council to hold its inquiries in public and to put the conclusions of its inquiries into the public domain. [132706]
§ Ms StuartMuch of the fitness to practise work of the General Medical Council is already conducted in public. Decisions that a doctor is not fit to practise are always made public.
The General Medical Council is undertaking a "Structural and Legal Review" of its fitness to practise procedures. The GMC will publish its proposals for modernisation later this year. We will need to consider how far they meet the rising expectations of the public and Parliament for fundamental changes to the way the GMC deals with doctors who do not meet the expected standards of conduct and performance set by the profession. If the Council cannot deliver the reform that is necessary we will act to put into place effective measures for the protection of the public.
§ Mr. BurnettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he issues on non-judicial inquiries into events in the NHS; how many of such inquiries have been conducted; how many reports of such inquiries have been put in the public domain; and how many such inquiries have been carried out by employees of the NHS since May 1997. [132707]
§ Ms StuartNon-statutory inquiries into events in the National Health Service are carried out at many levels of NHS management as part of the management process. They may be initiated internally by staff, through formal mechanisms such as the NHS Complaints Procedures, or through external agencies. Some inquiries may be staffed from within the NHS organisation while others will have the benefit of independent members. No general guidance 637W has been issued, although specific information on the NHS Complaints Procedures was issued under cover of Executive Letter (96)19, copies of which are available in the Library.
Full details of these inquiries are not held centrally. For information on inquiries established by the Department since December 1997 1 refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for North Devon (Mr. Harvey) on 25 July 2000, Official Report, columns 499–500W. all those inquiries listed have either reported publicly or intend to do so.