- Introduction
1.1 Law drafting is required to amend the Medical Practitioners (Registration) (General Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2014 (the “Order”) to allow medical practitioners who have been registered by the General Medical Council (GMC) under s.18A of the Medical Act 1983 (the “1983 Act”) to register in Jersey.
1.2 S. 18A of the 1983 Act enables the GMC to register medical practitioners in the UK, in an emergency. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which is currently affecting Jersey and most of the globe, Jersey may need to register additional medical practitioners rapidly. It is envisaged that these will be retired medical practitioners or those, perhaps, with overseas qualifications.
1.3 It is intended that Jersey will continue to rely on the GMC to act as the professional regulator for the Island’s doctors. In this way, the Jersey Care Commission (JCC) will continue to register medical practitioners only if they have prior registration with the GMC in the UK. The Law Drafting Office (LDO) is requested to draft amendments to the Order which will allow the JCC to register medical practitioners who have been registered under s.18A of the 1983 Act in the UK.
- Amendments to the Requirements for Registration
2.1 The Law Officers’ Department (LOD) have advised that, currently, Article 5 of the Order only provides for the JCC to register a medical practitioner who has been registered under s.3 of the 1983 Act, and not for persons who have been registered under s.18A of the Act. Article 5 of the Order, therefore, must be amended to allow the JCC to register those who have been registered under s.3 or s.18A of the 1983 Act.
2.2 Medical practitioners should, however, only be able to register with the JCC if they have been registered under s.18A of the 1983 Act if there is a requirement to register doctors because of the outbreak of Covid-19 in Jersey. A limitation should be added to this provision so that its application is limited to the period of the Covid-19 outbreak. The period of the Covid-19 outbreak should be defined by the LDO in conjunction with the other draft Regulations it is preparing in response to the pandemic so that a consistent approach is taken across all necessary legislative amendments.
2.3 In addition, a medical practitioner who is registered under s.18A of the 1983 Act should have a licence to practise. Article 1 of the Order defines a licence to practise as a licence granted in accordance with regulations made under s.29A of the 1983 Act, namely the General Medical Council (Licence to Practise and Revalidation) Regulations Order of Council 2012. As Regulation 3 of the said regulations makes it mandatory for a licence to be issued by the GMC upon registration under the 1983 Act, whether such registration is full or provisional and including temporary registration under s.18A, it is necessary to include this requirement under the amended provision in the Order.
- Amendments to the Mandatory Conditions of Registration
3.1 It is important that all those who register with the JCC by virtue of their registration with the GMC under its emergency registration powers – under s.18A of the 1983 Act – will only be registered for the period of the Covid-19 outbreak in Jersey. It should therefore be a mandatory condition of registration – under Article 6 of the Order – that those who have registered in this way will have their registration cancelled at the end of the period of the Covid-19 outbreak. Again, this period should be defined by the LDO in conjunction with the other draft Regulations it is preparing in response to the pandemic.
3.2 It may be necessary to amend Article 6(1) of the Order, which states that mandatory conditions apply to every registered medical practitioner, as the mandatory condition outlined in the above paragraph only relates to certain practitioners. Equally, an additional mandatory requirement should be placed on medical practitioners registered by virtue of s.18A of the 1983 Act that they must inform the JCC immediately when their registration under s.18A of the 1983 Act ceases. This is necessary as registration under this provision is short term, applicable only to the period of an emergency.
3.3 Advice is required from the LDO as to whether any additional amendments to Article 6 of the Order are required in order to facilitate the emergency registration of medical practitioners.
- Amendments to the Requirement to Provide Certain Documents and Information and to Pay a Fee
4.1 In an urgent, emergency situation, it is important that the JCC is given flexibility to determine the information it requires in order to register medical practitioners. Equally, while the GMC is yet to issue detailed guidance on the registration process during the declaration of an emergency under s.18A of the 1983 Act to deal with Covid-19, it is likely to waive some of the usual registration requirements. This may apply, even, to those doctors it registers under s.3 of the 1983 Act in order to reduce the administrative burden.
4.2 Therefore, throughout the period of the Covid-19 outbreak (as defined by the LDO), the JCC must have the power to determine the information it requires in an application to register as a medical practitioner. This should not limit the JCC so that it cannot require the information specified under the Schedule to the Order. Rather, it should be a time-limited provision that, during the outbreak of Covid-19, the JCC will waive the requirement for an application for registration to contain any of the particulars and be accompanied by any of the documents specified in the Schedule, where it determines that it is proportionate and reasonable to do so. This will require an amendment to Article 4(1)(b) of the Order.
4.3 In the same way, during the outbreak of Covid-19, any medical practitioner registered by virtue of s.18A of the 1983 Act will not be required to pay a fee. Article 4(1)(d) should be amended to exclude those who register in this way from this requirement.
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