Michael Finucane
Question:9 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Health and Children the consideration, if any, given to date to the publication of a new medical practitioners Act; and when he will publish this long promised legislation. [13101/99]
Other Questions. - Medical Practitioners Act.
Alan Shatter
Question:84 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Health and Children the consideration, if any, given to date to the publication of a new medical practitioners Act; and when he will publish this long promised legislation. [14101/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 84 together.
The Medical Practitioners Act, 1978, is almost 20 years in existence. There is no doubt that there have been significant changes in the practice of medicine, the public expectations of the profession and the confidence in the profession to regulate itself. There have also been significant developments in case law covering the safeguards required when a regulatory body proposes to take action which may affect the ability of an individual to earn his livelihood. The council has been able to incorporate changes flowing from these developments in its procedures. The council has also had the benefit of its own experience in handling difficult and complex cases which the framers of the 1978 Act could not have envisaged. It must be acknowledged that the extent to which the council can amend its procedures is constrained by the 1978 Act.
During previous discussions with the council and other interested bodies a number of proposed changes emerged, many of which will be non-controversial and will easily be incorporated in a new Bill. A number of areas which need to be changed are as follows: registration, fitness to practice, establishment of a health committee, membership of the council, and the role of the Minister. The council has also brought forward discussion documents in relation to the following items: reform of the intern year, health procedures and competence assurance standards. The areas covered by the latter two discussion papers were not addressed in earlier discussions with interest groups and will require further consultation and study before they can be developed into legislative proposals.
I would like to be in a position to circulate draft heads of a Bill this year. However, I will have to prioritise these proposals against other items in the legislative programme as well as their relative priority vis-à-vis a new nurses Act.
We have an obligation to ensure that medical practitioners operating in this country are of the highest standard and two recent cases gave rise to a great deal of concern in that regard.
The Deputy should ask a question.
Does the Department provide guidelines to govern the recruitment of medical personnel? Is there a mechanism to check whether all of those employed in the medical profession are members of the IMO? In instances where medical practitioners worked abroad for a number of years, would it not be better to ensure that, before they take up employment on return to Ireland, these people should be obliged to supply evidence of their good standing? We must ensure that people can have confidence in the abilities of and standards reached by medical practitioners.
A person's entry into the medical profession is governed by educational attainment. Upon completion of academic study or professional examination, people are subjected to the usual ethical and professional standards that apply to the medical profession in this country. If the Deputy is asking whether the Department issues guidelines on who should be a doctor, unfortunately the answer is that it does not.
Thanks be to God.
With regard to the other question raised by the Deputy, I would rather deal with that in my formal reply to a later question which specifically relates to that matter.
The Minister referred to competence assurance standards and stated that the Irish Medical Council, to its credit – I do not often praise the medical council but I will in this instance – came forward with proposals and has invested an enormous amount of work in dealing with the difficult issue of ensuring good standards among members of the profession. Does the Minister accept that this should form part of the legislation, that the council has done a great deal of work on it and that the Department should show some goodwill in attempting to include it in the Bill? Does he agree that this is an opportunity which should not be missed? As Deputy Ahearn stated, there is enough evidence to give rise to concerns if this matter is not addressed.
In January the Minister stated that legislation dealing with medical indemnity may be forthcoming. Will the Bill include provisions to cover that matter?
No, that is a separate issue. With regard to the competence assurance standards, I met a deputation from the Medical Council recently and we discussed this matter in some detail. The reply I gave is intended to indicate that we would like to incorporate such standards into new legislation but that more work needs to be done because they were only recently introduced to the discussions taking place on the amendment of the Medical Practitioners Act. I agree that the medical council has done a great deal of work on this matter and I have been impressed by its efforts.