Health Minister John Hutton today announced the appointment of Jane
Wesson as the first chair of the Council for the Regulation of Health
Care Professionals (CRHCP).

In her role as chair, Mrs Wesson - the former chair of the National
Clinical Assessment Authority (NCAA) and Harrogate Health Care NHS
Trust - will manage the CRHCP's co-ordination of the work of the
regulators of all doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals
including the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Nursing and
Midwifery Council (NMC).

The Council will be established from 1 April 2003 and follows the
Kennedy Report into children's heart surgery at the Bristol Royal
Infirmary, which recommended a clearer framework of regulation, and
the commitment in the NHS Plan to establish a UK Council of Health
Regulators. The CRHCP will be a guardian of the public interest,
totally independent from Government and directly answerable to
Parliament.

Welcoming the appointment, John Hutton said:

"I am very pleased to be able to announce Jane Wesson's appointment
as the first chair of the Council for the Regulation of Health Care
Professionals. Jane's successful track record in chairing both local
and national health care organisations make her ideally suited for
the post."

"Jane Wesson will have a key role in working with the Council's
members and the Regulatory Bodies to ensure greater consistency of
standards and accountability across professional self-regulation.
These important issues were highlighted in the NHS Plan and the
Kennedy Report and are central to supporting health care workers and
strengthening public confidence in the health service. The regulatory
bodies and the Government share the goals of promoting the interests
of patients through securing common principles of regulation and the
adoption of best practice."

In accepting her appointment Mrs Wesson said:

"I am delighted to accept the role of Chair of the Council for the
Regulation of Health Care professionals. I am looking forward to
working collaboratively with fellow Council members, the regulatory
bodies, patients and consumer groups to build on the encouraging
reforms that are already underway to make the framework of
professional self-regulation more transparent and accountable to
Parliament."

Sir Graeme Catto, president of the GMC said:
"I welcome the announcement of Jane Wesson as chair of the Council
for the Regulation of Health Care Professionals, which has important
work to do promoting best practice and bringing better co-ordination
in the regulation of all the health care professions. I am very much
looking forward to working with Jane, both in my capacity as a member
of CRHCP and as president of the GMC."

Frances Blunden, principle policy advisor at the Consumer Association
said:

"We welcome the establishment of the Council for Regulation of Health
Care Professionals. We believe this will help to increase the public
accountability of the health care regulators. The Council should
ensure a more comprehensive approach to regulation, with greater
consistency between the individual regulators and promotion of best
practice. We hope that this will be a significant step to improving
public protection from incompetent or unscrupulous professionals.
Fundamental to the successful operation of the Council must be a
central commitment to putting the interests of patients first."

The new Council will act as an overarching body which will oversee
the individual regulators, but will not get involved in the direct
regulation of healthcare professionals. Instead, it will ensure
consistency in the work of the regulators where necessary, and help
Parliament to hold the regulators more effectively to account.

Notes for Editors
1. Jane Wesson will receive #25,000 a year for between 2 and 2 1/2
days a week.

2. Mrs Wesson was Chair of the National Clinical Assessment Authority
(NCAA) from January 2001 to December 2003, where her first task was
to prepare the Authority for its April 2001 launch. Under her
leadership the NCAA was established on a firm footing. Jane Wesson
was Chair of Harrogate Health Care NHS Trust between 1993 and 2000
and is an experienced solicitor. She was chair of the Independent
Tribunal Service from 1993-99 and has long been a member of the NHS
Confederation's HR Committee.

3. The new Council has been established under the National Health
Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002. It will have
nine members from the professions and ten representing public
interests and the NHS. Setting up the Council delivers one of the NHS
Plan commitments and was one of the steps called for in the Kennedy
Report. It will improve the consistency and accountability to
Parliament of the regulators' work.

4. The Council will oversee the:

General Medical Council
General Dental Council
General Optical Council
Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Health Professions Council
Nursing and Midwifery Council
General Osteopathic Council
General Chiropractic Council
Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland.

5. The Kennedy Report said:

"A Council for the Regulation of Healthcare Professionals should be
created to bring together those bodies which regulate healthcare
professionals.. in effect, this is the body currently referred to in
the NHS Plan as the council of Healthcare Regulators.. [It] must
ensure that there is an integrated and co-ordinated approach to
setting standards, monitoring performance, and inspection and
validation. Issues of overlap and of gaps between the various bodies
must be addressed and resolved.

"[It] should be independent of Government and report both to the
Department of Health and to Parliament."

6. The Council will seek to achieve its goals by influence and
suggestion. But if its advice is ignored, it has legal powers which
give it some real "teeth." It could, on securing Parliamentary
approval, force a regulator to change its rules. It also has the
power to refer unduly lenient decisions about professionals' fitness
to practice to the High Court, where the decision can be reviewed.

7. Media enquiries only to Alicia O'Donnell-Smith at the Department
of Health media centre on 0207 210 5222.

ENDS