The government’s new safeguarding authority - which will have the power to remove doctors from their jobs - is creating an unnecessary and “burdensome” layer of regulation, warns the BMA.
NHS jobs are now covered by the new Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) and all children and adults receiving any form of healthcare are categorised as “vulnerable”.
Launched in October, the scheme replaces existing arrangements for spotting potential abusers with much stricter controls for protecting vulnerable people.
The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) which runs the scheme will be able to automatically bar doctors accused of the most serious offences without any right of appeal.
If the concerns are less serious the individual will have the right to make representations as to why the bar should be removed. They will also be able to appeal to an Upper Tribunal but only on the grounds that the ISA has made an error on a point of law or fact in making its decision.
The VBS is the government’s response to the Bichard Inquiry set up after the murders in Soham of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman by Ian Huntley. It operates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Employers face fines of up to £5,000 if they fail to refer to refer an employee whom they have concerns about.
Doctors must start registering with the VBS from July next year. There will be a one-off fee of £64 for the criminal records and other background checks. Once registered individuals will be continuously monitored. As many as nine million people could be required to undergo the checks.
The scheme has already received widespread criticism for being overly prescriptive because it will extend to parents who transport their friend’s children on behalf of a sports or social club.
Paul Flynn, deputy chairman of the BMA’s consultants committee, said: “One of our concerns is that this scheme will create a whole new dimension of scrutiny of patient safety incidents which are not necessary and it will add considerably to the burden of regulation.
“Another concern is that the ISA will have the power to take away a doctor’s ability to earn a living with no right of appeal. While the GMC and other bodies can question a doctor’s fitness to practise and remove them from their job there is always a right to appeal their decisions.
“This is a very blunt instrument for dealing with a serious problem.”
An ISA spokesman said: “The scheme offers a common sense, proportionate approach to safeguarding and it is what we believe the public would rightly expect.”
Read more on how the new VBS will work.
Tags: Bureaucracy, ISA, Suspended
Of course there are paedophiles and abused children (and vulnerable adults); no one would deny this or condone it. But when will our legislators realise that these cases are a small minority? The majority of adults do NOT abuse children and the majority of children are NOT abused. Legislation that penalises the majority for the sins of the minority is BAD law.
This is not a “sledgehammer to crack a nut”; it is more like WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) to exterminate a weed! It would appear to confirm the theory that the “lunatics are running the asylum”!
Also, we should note that the ISA has the power to bar a doctor “ACCUSED” of a serius offence. Whatever happened to the bedrock of British law - that a person is deemd innocent until PROVED guilty?
The ISA spokesman said “The scheme offers a common sense, proportionate appraoch…”. He must have a different definition for these words than the rest of the public!
Retired Orthopod.