I propose to take Questions Nos. 1056 and 1057 together.
It is important to note that professional regulation is part of a broader system of assurance used to mitigate the risk posed to the public by the practice of health and social care professions. This system of assurance includes effective employment controls, safe working systems and clinical governance. Professional regulation is not a substitute for these protections.
Many professions employed in the health service, including in the HSE and the publicly funded sector, are not subject to statutory regulation. There are existing protections in place to mitigate public protection risks. For example, the HSE has robust employment controls in place as well as an established complaints process. Other existing public protection measures include consumer, contract and criminal justice laws. The work of professional bodies also assists in protecting service users.
As outlined to the Deputy, work is ongoing in my department to develop a framework to guide policy on the regulation of health and social care professionals into the future. It is timely that we seek to advance and nuance our approach to professional regulation of health and social care professionals both in terms of the risk assessment of professions and in terms of an expansion of the assurance mechanisms available for varying levels of risk. As part of this work, a continuum of assurance mechanisms will be developed to provide for proportionate, targeted regulation.
As outlined to the Deputy, the issues to be considered regarding the proportionate degree of regulatory force required to protect the public are complex and this is therefore a significant project requiring considerable research and engagement with relevant stakeholders. The Department has already engaged with many professional bodies representing unregulated professions and has suggested in the course of this engagement that information and data be collated in relation to evidence of risk, to support this ongoing work.
Regulation of additional individual professions is not planned until the risk-based assessment framework is in place in compliance with best practice, international evidence, and the EU Proportionality Test Directive.
