Law Commission publishes report on control of health regulation

Revalidation of practitioners, increased disciplinary sanctions and more proactive investigation into poor practice are all raised in the Law Commission’s recommended reforms report for health regulators published last week.

The report, Regulation of Health Care Professionals and Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England, includes a draft bill which would enact the reforms replacing current laws including the Optician Act.

In the UK nine bodies currently regulate 1.4 million workers in 32 healthcare roles. The Law Commission report recommended that a single and clear framework was needed for the regulators to work within to uphold their duty to the public. It added that regulators would be empowered to more actively seek out poor practice and not always have to wait for a formal complaint. The reforms would also increase the range of sanctions available and they would also allow regulators to discipline or strike off practitioners who could not communicate clearly in English.