Colleagues,
In order to make the position clear the briefing for MSPs at the
Scottish parliament on Wednesday
Has been organised by Mary Scanlon MSP at her invitation for the SCP to
brief MSPs.
We are happy for non members to attend and talk to their MSP about the
provision of podiatry
In NHS Scotland.
Kind Regards
Ralph Graham
Consultant Podiatrist
Witham, Essex, U.K.
-----Original Message-----
From: A group for the academic discussion of current issues in podiatry
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mark Russell
Sent: 27 October 2004 14:43
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Regulation of Health Professions (Scotland)
I've just been advised by the clerk to the petitions committee that the
supporting information has yet to be posted to the site as they are
experiencing 'technichal difficulties'. I therefore submit this material
here. Hopefully they'll get the gremlins out in the next couple of days.
<<Health is a devolved matter to the Scottish Parliament. Therefore the
responsibility of providing Scotland's population with quality, safe and
effective healthcare lies entirely with the Scottish legislature.
However, the Westminster Parliament has reserved regulation of
healthcare professionals, which involves professional qualifications,
eligibility to practice and control over standards of professional
competence and conduct (G2 of Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act).
Health professionals are defined for this purpose as: doctors, dentists,
chiropodists and podiatrists, opticians, pharmacists, nurses,
physiotherapists, clinical scientists, dieticians, operating department
practitioners, orthoptists, paramedics, orthotists and prosthetists,
biomedical scientists, radiographers, speech and language therapists,
paramedics and art therapists.
Two exceptions are specified to the reservation. The Parliament does
have competence to legislate about what vocational training and
experience is necessary for doctors before they can provide general
medical services in the NHSiS (section 21 of the NHS (Scotland) Act
1978). The Parliament can also legislate to regulate the provision of
general dental services in the NHSiS so far as that relates to
vocational training and disciplinary proceedings (section 25 of the NHS
(Scotland) Act).
The Health Professions Council (HPC) is a new independent, UK-wide
regulatory body responsible for setting and maintaining standards of
professional training, performance and conduct of the 12 healthcare
professions that it regulates.The HPC was created by a piece of
legislation called the health professions order 2001 - a Statutory
Instrument No 2, which came into force on 12 February 2002.
Contained within this legislation was the power to protect the titles of
the regulated professions. It was envisaged that protection of the
titles would offer some safeguards to the public when making choices
from the available competencies. For example, prior to the Act, any
person could legally call himself or herself a chiropodist or podiatrist
or physiotherapist, without having gained any qualifications in that
discipline whatsoever. The primary objective of the HPC was to secure
effective regulation of all practitioners who practice in their
respective fields under the banner of the protected title.
Those practitioners who were already in practice but had no formal or
recognised qualifications could apply to be 'grand-parented' onto the
new register and it was initially envisaged that some form of test of
competence by applied to those persons, which would assure the public
and the professions of their suitability to undertake safe and effective
practice.
This process however has become notoriously lax and there is no
examination or test of competence to ensure safe and effective
standards.Grand-parented practitioners, with no formal training or
qualifications, now have the same legal basis for employment within
Scotland's NHS as a graduate practitioner.
There is a clear and potential danger to the health and welfare of
Scotland's population.
The Scottish Parliament may have the responsibility of providing
healthcare to its population but it is powerless to regulate and uphold
standards to those people it employs in its National Health Service.
That is an anomaly, I respectfully submit, should be addressed without
delay.>>
end.
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