STATES OF JERSEY HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT
PUBLIC HEALTH DIRECTORATE
Report from Head of Professional and Care Regulation
REPORT
TITLE: Medical Practitioners (Registration)(General Provisions) Order 2014
Medical Practitioners (Registration) (Responsible Officers) (Jersey) Order 2014
DATE: 19 August 2014
BACKGROUND
The Medical Practitioners (Registration) (Jersey) Law 1960 is primary legislation, which determines the how doctors become registered as medical practitioners in Jersey.
In July 2011 the States Assembly approved amendments to this primary Law which was necessary to satisfy the UK General Medical Council (GMC) that doctors working in Jersey meet the required standards and are and continue to be fit to practise. The Appointed Day Act bringing this amendment into force (P.114/2014) on 1 October 2014 was approved by the States by standing vote on 9 July 2014.
The amendment lays the foundations needed for a new system of local regulation of doctors in Jersey which:
- Updates to the current legislation to require doctors in Jersey to hold full registration and a licence to practise with the UK General Medical Council (GMC).
- enables the Jersey Law to be updated by Order in response to any future changes in the UK; and
- transfers the registration of medical practitioners from the Royal Court to the Minister for Health and Social Services.
The updated Law made provision for secondary legislation in the form of Orders to be written, which provide the detail about how local regulation will work in practice. Two Orders are now drafted, were subject to a stakeholder consultation[1] and are now ready for approval, these are the Medical Practitioners (Registration) (General Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2014 and the Medical Practitioners (Registration) (Responsible Officers) (Jersey) Order 2014. The outcome of the consultation can be found at:
Medical Practitioners (Registration) (General Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2014
This Order specifies the information doctors are required to supply on application for registration and which will subsequently be held on the register. Essentially this includes personal and professional information, any relevant investigations and/or conditions on practise imposed on the applicant by the GMC. The Order also makes provision for the public to access the list of doctors registered in Jersey.
The Order makes provisions to ensure that the Medical Practitioner Register remains up-to-date and that the regulatory authorities in Jersey are aware of referrals to, investigations conducted by, or conditions applied by the GMC.
To ensure that the register is kept up-to-date, registered practitioners will be required to verify their information on the register every two years. If the information is not verified, the practitioner’s name will be removed from the register.
As part of the transitional arrangements necessary to bring the register up to date, all medical practitioners currently registered with the Royal Court, will be included on the register other than doctors who were registered before 1 January 1957. However if any doctor registered before this date wishes to remain on the Jersey register he or she can request to be reinstated.
Once the Order comes into force, all medical practitioners will be required within 12 months to provide the information set out in the schedule which will form the basis of the updated register.
The fee for registering will be as at present: a one off payment of £150 which is payable at the time of first registration. Doctors already registered and migrated onto the updated register will not be required to pay a fee.
Medical Practitioners (Registration) (Responsible Officers) (Jersey) Order 2014
This Order provides for the appointment and duties of Responsible Officers (ROs) which mirror those of ROs in the UK and include making recommendations to the GMC to assist their decision about whether an individual doctor continues to have a licence to practise.
There are five classes of registered medical practitioners that will determine how local doctors will be allocated a Responsible Officers. It’s an equivalent system to that in the UK and agreed by the GMC to support the revalidation process.
The five classes are:
- Responsible Officers class – This class is for the registered medical practitioners who are themselves, the Responsible Officers for the following four classes.
- States Employees class – This class is for all registered medical practitioners who are States employees or who practise under a contract of service with the Health and Social Services Department.
- Performers class – This class is for doctors who work as General Practitioners and who are included on the Performers List and an approved practitioner under the Health Insurance (Jersey) Law 1967.
- Independent Practitioners class – This class is for what is expected to be a small number of registered medical practitioners who do not fall into any of the preceding classes and do not already have a UK Responsible Officer.
- UK Connected Practitioners class – This class is for doctors who already have a Responsible Officer in the UK.
Under the Order, Responsible Officers are appointed by the Minister and he or she must be registered as a medical practitioner in Jersey.
The Responsible Officer responsibilities for each class of medical practitioner are set out in the Schedules to the Order and broadly follow the equivalent UK regulations. The responsibilities for the Responsible Officer for the Performers class are consistent with and aligned to the Health Insurance (Performers List for General Medical Practitioners) (Jersey) Regulations 2014.
Recommendation
Approve the following Orders made under the Medical Practitioners (Registration) (Jersey) Law 1960:
Medical Practitioners (Registration) (General Provisions) Order 2014
Medical Practitioners (Registration) (Responsible Officers) (Jersey) Order 2014
Christine Blackwood
Head of Professional and Care Regulation
28 August 2014
gov.je