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Tackling Concerns Locally

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The Tackling Concerns Locally Working Group is coordinating a series of reforms which will strengthen local arrangements for identifying poor practice among healthcare workers and taking effective action where poor practice is suspected. The main working group will coordinate the work of six sub-groups, who will be publishing separate reports or consultation papers, beginning in summer 2008.  At this stage we do not envisage that the Tackling Concerns Locally Working Group will be publishing any overarching report.

The Tackling Concerns Locally workstream includes six sub-groups:

GMC affiliates

Develop and pilot a new system of GMC affiliates at local level. These bodies will provide the General Medical Council with a regional presence in order to support arrangements for joint working between local employers and the GMC.

Information

Design and implement systems for sharing information that could lead to early identification of poor practice in order to better protect the public

Death certification

Develop an improved system for death certification to ensure greater scrutiny of the medical certification of cause of death process

Feedback

If you would like to comment on any of the papers or the work of this group, please send them to the email address below

Responsible officer

Develop a new role of Responsible Officer so that in future all practising doctors in England will relate to a Responsible Officer who will be a senior doctor with local responsibility for overseeing the revalidation process and handling complaints against doctors.

Clinical governance

Improve systems for local investigation and local decision making to ensure patient safety and quality assurance through revitalisation of clinical governance processes.

Performers list

Review the current Performers List arrangements (under which GPs and other primary care contractors must be registered with a Primary Care Trust in order to practise locally), with a view to ensuring that they continue to provide necessary and appropriate safeguards.

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