Clause 26 - Suspension and disqualification of practitioners
Health and Social Care Bill
12:00 pm
Mr John Denham (Minister of State, Department of Health; Southampton, Itchen, Labour)
The provisions of amendment No. 162 will prevent a practitioner who has been disqualified from a health board list by an NHS tribunal in Scotland or Northern Ireland from being included on any list in England or Wales. Specifically, it enables the Secretary of State to make provisions in regulations to recognise the decisions of Scottish and Northern Irish tribunals in England and Wales. It is essential to ensure that there are robust arrangements across the UK so that practitioners removed from lists in one area of the country do not appear in another area. Contractors who are unfit to practice in Scotland or Northern Ireland are likely to be unfit to practice in England or Wales. Indeed the FHSAA will not be able to overturn or review a decision of a Scottish or Northern Irish tribunal. I am sure that everyone will agree that this is an important provision to ensure patient safety. Amendment 137 makes a consequential change to the numerical reference in the clause to reflect the addition of the new section.