Responsible officers and the HR team
The Medical Profession (Responsible Officer) Regulations came into force on 1 January 2011. They were amended on 1 April 2013 (The Medical Profession (Responsible Officers) (Amendment) Regulations 2013).
The regulations outline a number of duties that will have considerable overlap with HR processes.
HR can support ROs with:
- systems and procedural expertise
- advice on employee relations and employment law
- resources for case management and investigation
- training and induction
ROs and HR - working together:
- Establish working relationships between the RO & HR Director and also with the individuals who will be working alongside and supporting you
- Review current pre-employment check processes and make any necessary amendments – for example recording the name of the RO of all doctors who carry out work in your organisation for any period of time
- Explore how current employment procedures align to Maintaining High Professional Standards – this can be a useful guide even for non NHS organisations
- Ensure policies and procedures for investigating and handling concerns are in place and aligned with those for other employees.
- Identify now with HR who in the organisation could act as a case manager or investigator when a concern about a doctor does arise
- Look at the training requirements of appraisers, case managers and investigators and explore how HR can assist in this area
- A unified HR and RO record may well be beneficial – HR will be able to guide you on record keeping and storage requirements
- Review processes for the medical workforce against processes for other groups of professional staff to ensure equity and consistency