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Out-of-Hours GP Services

I, too, thank the Minister for early sight of the statement, and I join in the expressions of sympathy and condolences to the Gray family. The two sons of David Gray, Rory and Stuart, want something positive to come out of their personal tragedy and I hope very much that that is the case. The system ultimately failed their father in allowing Dr. Ubani to practise in this country. Also, it failed the family by failing to ensure that he appeared before a court in the United Kingdom following a police investigation into what happened. I welcome the report and the recommendations, but why the delay? A report on the performers list was published on the Department's website last March. That is 11 months ago. Why has it taken this long for the Government to respond to those recommendations? Will anyone be held to account for the failure of Cornwall PCT? The Minister says that there are legal duties, but they are of no value if nothing happens when they are breached. The House was informed in February 2007 of doctors working in Cornwall with inadequate language skills. That was before Dr. Ubani was registered by Cornwall. What action was taken and who will be held to account for that? Will the Minister consider introducing a criminal offence of PCTs failing to protect patient safety, in order to give some teeth to the regulations? The greatest safeguard of all would be to prevent a foreign doctor who has inadequate language skills or competence from registering with the GMC. The EU directive allows a regulator to satisfy itself on language, but the Medical Act, as the Minister said, needs amending. Will he consider amending it so that, under existing directives, the GMC could test language skills? Will he agree to lobby for EU reform to protect patients, as the GMC accepts is necessary—first, to allow a test of competence; secondly, to require immediate notification of suspension across Europe; and thirdly, for suspension anywhere to apply everywhere that that doctor is allowed to practise under the freedom of movement of labour? Does the Minister share the GMC's view that patients should have a right to safe and good-quality health care across the EU and to safe doctors? If so, these reforms are necessary. Does he agree that training in UK prescribing practice and medicines use—along with an induction and assessment—is essential before a doctor from overseas starts to practise in out-of-hours care? Will those requirements be part of the minimum standards? Does he agree that providing for a minimum number of local GPs on duty, particularly in widely dispersed rural counties, must be part of those minimum standards? A European arrest warrant was issued in the Dr. Ubani case, but it failed to be effective because of action taken by Germany's authorities to prosecute him on a minor charge in that country. Co-operation failed in that case, so is the Minister prepared to make representations to the Home Secretary to press for proper co-operation, because the European arrest warrant is of no value if it does not deliver justice in cases such as this?