ANALYSIS:The president of the Medical Council is already seeking amendments to be made to the Medical Practitioners Bill 2007, which was published yesterday. Health Correspondent Eithne Donnellanreports
The president of the Medical Council, Dr John Hillery, has expressed disappointment that Minister for Health Mary Harney plans to forge ahead with her proposals to have a lay majority on the council in future.
It is expected a new council will be in place this summer if the new Medical Practitioners Bill, as published yesterday, is enacted.
Dr Hillery said last night the council should have a medical majority and the council would be trying to get amendments to the Bill as it passes through the Oireachtas. He said there was no other country with a lay majority on its medical council, although there is a move in Britain to have even numbers of lay people and medical professionals on the General Medical Council there.
"Internationally, there are different models, but there is no model that has a lay majority so this is new ground [ that] Ireland is breaking ahead of the rest of the world. I've always said it would be better if we had proper self-regulation and see if that works before we go into non self-regulation," he said.
But he added it was good at last to have concrete proposals, as outlined in the Bill, to debate, having campaigned to get a revision of the existing 1978 legislation for many years.
He said the new Bill would not on its own prevent another Dr Michael Neary case going undetected. "This is just part of what needs to be done. We need licensing of hospitals and we need national audit," he said.
Furthermore, he said he remained very concerned that the Bill, as currently worded, would allow future ministers for health to block council activities that could be in the interests of patients but that might give discomfort to officials at a local or national level.
"The HSE, for example, could, with the current Bill, be able to put service provision above medical professional standards," he said. "The wording of the Bill must change to guarantee the independence of the Medical Council. The rights of the Minister and of other bodies to direct the council seem to be worded beyond that necessary for the council to be appropriately accountable," he said.
However, Patient Focus said it was very relieved there was now going to be a lay majority on the Medical Council. Its spokeswoman, Sheila O'Connor, said she welcomed the fact that fitness to practise inquiries would generally be held in public. Doctors would have to make a strong case for them to be held in private, she said. It was essential that the fitness to practise committee had a lay majority, as provided for under the Bill, she said. She also welcomed the fact that the Bill makes it mandatory for doctors to keep their skills up to date.
Ms Harney acknowledged many doctors might not be happy with a lay majority on the Medical Council. "But I actually think that this will be a good thing," she said.