NCAA WILL PLAY CENTRAL ROLE IN BETTER PROTECTION FOR PATIENTS, SUPPORT FOR DOCTORS

8 Jan 2001 12:00 AM

Chairman and Chief Officer appointed for ''rapid response'' Authority

A new, national body to provide a fast response to concerns about doctors'' performance will begin working from 1 April this year.

The National Clinical Assessment Authority (NCAA) is at the centre of the Government''s coordinated approach to better protection for patients and better support for doctors. It will provide a central point of contact for the NHS where concerns about a doctors'' performance arise and will give extra training and support to doctors where necessary.

The NCAA will make recommendations to NHS hospitals and health authorities so they can take appropriate action to check poor performance, ensure doctors are practising safely and to discipline or suspend doctors whose practice give rise to serious concerns much more quickly.

The Chairman of the NCAA will be Jane Wesson, who has been Chairman of Harrogate Healthcare NHS Trust since 1993. Jane is an experienced solicitor and was a Chair of the Independent Tribunal Service, dealing with appeals against administrative decisions such as social security and child support assessments, from 1993 to 1999. Jane is also a member of the NHS Confederation Human Resources Committee.

The Chief Officer and Medical Director of the NCAA is Dr Alistair Scotland, currently the Director of Medical Education and Research at London''s Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, and a senior lecturer at Imperial College School of Medicine. Dr Scotland has made a significant national contribution to improving the standards of practice through his work with the General Medical Council and the Royal College of Physicians.

The NCAA has been set up following recommendations made in the Chief Medical Officer''s report Supporting Doctors, Protecting Patients, published in February 2000. The report recommended a central, national system for speeding up and clarifying the process of assessing doctors'' performance where concerns were raised.

Alongside announcing the Chair and Chief Officer of the NCAA, the Department of Health today published a report showing its progress in providing better support for doctors and protection for patients. Entitled Assuring the Quality of Medical Practice, it details new measures already in place and those which are coming on stream in the NHS so that:

all NHS doctors get the right support and training to provide the latest, safest treatment for patients

patients will be protected by fast, thorough assessments of doctors'' practices where concerns are raised

doctors will no longer have to spend months, or even years, on suspension while the current slow system for assessing their performance grinds on

instead of waiting for problems to develop into scandals or disasters, they will be picked up early and dealt with.

Welcoming the appointment of the NCAA''s senior officers and the publication of today''s report, Health Minister John Denham said:

''Since 1997 this Government has developed a comprehensive strategy to protect patients and support doctors. Working with doctors and with the NHS we have taken, and continue to take, action on a broad front to ensure that the risks of cases similar to some we have seen recently occuring again in the future are minimised.

''The National Clinical Assessment Authority is a new approach to the problem of poorly performing doctors. Instead of waiting until a problem becomes a scandal or a disaster, instead of allowing out of date procedures to grind on while patients are at risk, the NCAA will spot problems early and work with doctors and the NHS to get doctors the right support and training to enable doctors to reach a good standard of practice as quickly as possible.

''The new system will be fast and effective for patients and fairer for doctors.''

''The way the NHS appoints and monitors doctors now has proper checks to make sure that some of the scandalous case we''ve seen in the past where badly performing doctors simply move around the system will not be repeated.

''For example, we will very shortly publish new requirements for much stronger checks on hospital doctors, including locums, before they are appointed. And under the new NHS Bill, all GPs will have to be registered with their local Health Authority and will have to have declared any findings against them by professional bodies to do so.

''The old NHS lacked proper measures to support doctors, protect patients, and drive up the standards of care. Under this Government the new NHS will have them.''

Notes to Editors

1. The report detailing current and future progress on supporting doctors and protecting patients''Assuring the Quality of Medical Practice'' is available on the internet at: http://www.doh.gov.uk/assuringquality