A backlog of 35 inquiries into the fitness of doctors to practise has prompted the Medical Council to propose for the first time the formation of a second inquiry committee.
At a press briefing yesterday after a lengthy Medical Council meeting, the chairwoman of the Fitness to Practise Committee, Prof Patricia Casey, said that its workload was extremely high. Its members were looking at ways of dealing with the 35 outstanding inquiries which had to be heard before the existing council went out of office in May.
"What we're proposing is for another inquiry committee to sit. It wouldn't be possible for us to have more than two inquiry teams because of the law. We could only have two groups working simultaneously," Prof Casey said.
The briefing was also told that proposals to reform the membership of the Medical Council did not now look like being implemented as amendments to the Medical Practitioners Act. The president of the Medical Council, Prof Gerard Bury, said that members wanted reform of the membership. They were disappointed that indications from the Department of Health were that it did not see any practical timescale within which the changes could be implemented.
Dr Bury said the proposal was to create a bigger council. At present, it was a 25-member voluntary group but the work was demanding and more committed people were required. "We wanted to increase the professional representation and also wanted a significantly greater proportion of lay members," Dr Bury said. The lay people would include members of voluntary organisations.
The Council members also defended the releasing of names and information about doctors who had been restricted or removed from the register. Dr Bury said it was an issue that had generated much debate but there had been no change in the council's procedures. It was the responsibility of the council to protect the public interest, he said.