Written question asked by Keith Vaz (Labour) on Thursday, 12 January 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 16 January 2012. It was answered by Anne Milton (Conservative) on Wednesday, 18 January 2012 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Doctors: Foreign Workers

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether health regulators are notified automatically when a doctor is struck off in another country.

Answer: There are no obligations on regulators from outside the European economic area to notify the General Medical Council when a doctor is struck-off, although in practice the General Medical Council will normally seek an assurance that a doctor is ““in good standing”” in their home country before registering them.There are requirements on European Union competent authorities to exchange information with each other under Directive 2005/36/EC (under articles 8 and 56) both when a health professional seeks to register in a new member state and at other times. However, the requirements do not currently amount to an obligation to notify other competent authorities when a doctor is struck off and the duty is only engaged where a request for information is made by another competent authority.The European Commission, in its proposed revision to the directive on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications has proposed a stronger alert mechanism underpinned by a clear duty on member states to share information where there are concerns about the practice of any health care professional.

Secondary information