Green light on PC schemes

The Medical Council has informed Minister for Health Mary Harney that it is now in a position to recommend that she commence Part 11 of the Medical Practitioners Act (MPA), which provides for the mandatory participation of doctors in professional competence (PC) schemes.
Once Part 11 has been commenced, the Council has one year to develop, establish and operate one or more PC schemes and to ensure that all doctors are enrolled in and participating in such programmes.

“Essentially, the ball is now in the Minister’s court, with the view to when the Department is going to commence this Part of the Act,” President of the Medical Council, Prof Kieran Murphy, told Irish Medical Times.
“We were hoping that it would commence in January, but that was not under the control of the Council,” he added. “We have a ‘ticking clock’ once the Act is commenced, and by the end of the year, we will endeavour to have all the practical issues sorted out, particularly with regard to the training bodies.”
Hawkins House could not give an exact date as to when the Minister would sign the remaining provision into law, although a spokesperson said the Department was currently in communication with the Council with a view to ‘early commencement’ of the provisions that relate to the maintenance of professional competence.
It is understood there may be some outstanding legal issues that need to be resolved in advance of the commencement.
Part 11 also requires the HSE to ‘facilitate the maintenance of professional competence of registered medical practitioners pursuant to a professional competence scheme applicable to the practitioners concerned’.
IMT has also learned that interviews for the post of Head of Professional Competence at the Council were held last Thursday (January 28) and that a successful candidate has been offered the job. The identity of the individual will not be released until contracts have been signed.
The Council was forced to re-advertise the post following an unsuccessful interview process last autumn. The new Head, which was first advertised last March, will take the lead role in the development of new professional competence schemes and will be charged, among other things, with co-ordinating the assessment of underperforming doctors.