Government publishes white paper in response to Shipman inquiry

Following the release of the fifth report of the Shipman inquiry, the government has announced plans to reform the regulation of health professionals in the UK.

As part of these new proposals, health professionals will be required to prove they are fit to practice every five years, while plans to alter the procedure for death certification have also been discussed.

The white paper states that professional regulators will be independent of government, while medical Royal Colleges will have a stronger role and regional General Medical Council affiliates will be introduced to provide assistance to local employers to independently verify the revalidation of health professionals.

Patricia Hewitt, health secretary, said: “The past decade has seen much debate, sometimes heated, about the future of professional regulation.

“The white paper provides an opportunity to put an end to those debates and move forward positively and in partnership in the future.”

She added that the proposed changes offered the opportunity for a long-term settlement regarding these debates, facilitating a focus on patient safety and increase in public and professional confidence.

Harold Shipman, formerly a GP, was convicted on 15 sample charges of killing patients with injections of diamorphine, with the public inquiry into his actions concluding that he was responsible for approximately 500 deaths.