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Health and Social Care Bill

I suppose I should declare an interest as someone who has been employed on fitness-to-practise panels for the past couple of years. I, too, was disappointed to see the amendment of the noble Earl, Lord Howe, because one of the things that I have felt for several years is that the GMC has been on a long, learning journey from which it has learnt the lessons from the big legal cases and the big inquiries and is in the process of modernising to take account of those lessons. I have been very impressed by the openness with which it has done that, and I am aware of the amount of dialogue and support that there has been for what the Government propose here, so to start saying at this stage that we can do better than that is unfortunate. I do not want to echo all the good things that the noble Lord, Lord Walton, said, which are included in the GMC’s briefings, but I do think that the document, Good Medical Practice, is a gold standard. It is not a static document; it has evolved over time. My understanding is that doctors hold that document in very high esteem. It is more than just about establishing professional standards; it is something against which doctors accept they should be evaluated. We should not lose sight of that document. It would be hard for a new organisation, however worthy, to find the eloquence and the expertise to replicate that document, so we should not lose sight of its importance for doctors’ training and professionalism. I will not go on or I will repeat comments of colleagues. I oppose the amendment.