UK healthcare regulators call on European Commission to propose new duty of disclosure between regulators in Europe to ensure patient safety
UK healthcare professional regulators are calling for the European Commission to propose a new legal duty on bodies with similar roles across Europe to exchange disciplinary and registration information about healthcare professionals and to act on it.
This call has been made in a joint response submitted to the European Commission’s consultation regarding Community Action on Health Services by the Alliance of UK Health Regulators on Europe (AURE), a coalition of all ten UK health and social care professional regulators.
Speaking in Brussels Professor Sir Graeme Catto, President of the General Medical Council, one of AURE’s coalition members, said: “Whilst the UK undoubtedly benefits from this high level of mobility, registering many dedicated professionals who contribute positively to healthcare in this country, there may be a minority who exploit free-movement rights and put patients at risk.
"Placing a new legal duty on regulators across the EU to exchange registration and disciplinary information, and to act on it, would provide the tools to enable free-movement whilst at the same time ensuring the safety of patients and the public.”
Media attention around healthcare in Europe has largely, to date, focused on the potential for increased numbers of patient ‘tourists’. However, there is already a significant level of mobility of healthcare professionals across European borders. In 2005, over 7000 practitioners from the EEA came to the UK to register with AURE’s members and find work.
Hew Mathewson, President of the UK’s General Dental Council, also a member of AURE commented: “With this scale of mobility of dentists, nurses, doctors and
other healthcare professionals across European borders, much greater information needs to be made available to patients, the public and health professionals
alike.
“National regulators must be enabled to facilitate this free movement, but also to ensure the safety of patients and the public”.
