§ David TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedures are in place to assess the performance of doctors employed by Schlumberger Sema to carry out medical assessment of benefit applicants on behalf of Jobcentre Plus. [87301]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownDoctors must demonstrate they have achieved a satisfactory standard before being approved by the Chief Medical Adviser to carry out assessments on behalf of the Department. Ongoing approval is dependent upon the doctor maintaining a satisfactory standard. We therefore have stringent procedures in place to assess their performance.
A doctor's work can be audited if their work is reported to be deficient or if they are subject to significant levels of complaint and, in addition, cases are randomly selected for audit on an ongoing monthly basis.
All complaints made regarding the manner or conduct of a doctor are investigated to ensure that examining doctors have followed the professional standards laid down by Medical Services, and consideration is given to any complaints made and their nature when reviewing the performance of individual doctors.
The Department and Medical Services also undertake a number of validation exercises to ensure that these systems are sufficiently robust and that the performance of doctors acting on behalf of the Department is effectively assessed.