European Primary Medical Qualifications Regulations 1996

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
CitationSI 1996/1591

1996 No. 1591

MEDICAL PROFESSION

The European Primary Medical Qualifications Regulations 1996

Made 19th June 1996

Laid before Parliament 19th June 1996

Coming into force 10th July 1996

The Secretary of State, being designated1for the purposes of, and in exercise of the powers conferred by, section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:—

S-1 Citation, commencement and interpretation

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Primary Medical Qualifications Regulations 1996 and shall come into force on 10th July 1996.

(2) In these Regulations—

(a)

(a) “the Act” means the Medical Act 19833; and

(b)

(b) expressions which are used in the Act have the same meanings as in the Act.

S-2 The competent authority for certain EEA purposes

The competent authority for certain EEA purposes

2.—(1) In relation to primary United Kingdom and primary European qualifications and to registration under the Act by virtue of such qualifications, the General Council shall be the competent authority in the United Kingdom for the purposes of—

(a)

(a) Title II (mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in medicine) of Directive 93/16/EEC; and

(b)

(b) Title III (coordination of provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in respect of activities of doctors) of that Directive.

(2) Accordingly, in relation to such qualifications and to persons registered or seeking registration under the Act by virtue of such qualifications, the General Council shall as respects the United Kingdom perform (in addition to any functions provided for elsewhere) the following functions conferred by Directive 93/16/EEC(the relevant article of that Directive being referred to in brackets where it is not otherwise mentioned)—

(a)

(a) the function of issuing in respect of practice in the United Kingdom the certificate of effective and lawful practice referred to in article 9(1);

(b)

(b) where the United Kingdom is the host State, the function of providing, where the General Council think fit, the information referred to in the first paragraph of articles 11(3) and 12(2);

(c)

(c) where the General Council receive such information, the function of verifying the accuracy of the facts, of deciding on the nature and extent of the investigation to be made and of informing the host State of action taken (as mentioned in the second paragraph of articles 11(3) and 12(2)), such information to be provided within the period of three months beginning with the date on which the request for information was received (as mentioned in article 15(2));

(d)

(d) the function of receiving or (as the case may be) forwarding the information referred to in article 12(1);

(e)

(e) the function of ensuring the confidentiality of information forwarded under articles 11 and 12 (articles 11(4) and 12(3));

(f)

(f) the function of supplying the certificates referred to in the second and third indents of article 17(3) in the case of a person established in the United Kingdom, and of withdrawing the former in the circumstances referred to in article 17(5); and

(g)

(g) the function of requiring, in the event of justified doubts, confirmation of authenticity of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications granted by another EEA State and confirmation that a national of an EEA State seeking registration under this Act by virtue of a primary European qualification not granted in the United Kingdom has fulfilled the Directive’s training requirements (article 22).

(3) In addition, in relation to primary United Kingdom qualifications and to registration under the Act, the General Council shall as respects the United Kingdom have the functions of a competent authority referred to in the following articles of Directive 93/16/EEC

(a)

(a) article 9(5) (issue of certificates of fulfilment of Directive training requirements in respect of qualifications which do not conform with the designations set out in the Directive);

(b)

(b) article 11(2) (issue of certificates of good standing);

(c)

(c) article 13 (issue of certificates of physical or mental health); and

(d)

(d) article 22 (function of confirming authenticity of qualifications and of confirming that a person has fulfilled the Directive’s training requirements).

(4) The General Council is hereby designated as respects the United Kingdom for the purposes set out in this regulation in accordance with article 42 of Directive 93/16/EEC(which requires member States to designate the authorities competent to issue or receive the diplomas, documents and other information referred to in that Directive).

(5) Subject to paragraph (6) below, the Secretary of State may give directions to the General Council in connection with—

(a)

(a) their functions under or by virtue of this regulation, and

(b)

(b) any other functions of theirs which arise from Community obligations and which relate to primary United Kingdom or European qualifications, or to registration under the Act by virtue of any qualifications;

and it shall be the duty of the General Council to comply with any such directions.

(6) Directions given under paragraph (5) above may be as to matters of administration only.

S-3 Registration by virtue of primary United Kingdom or primary European qualifications

Registration by virtue of primary United Kingdom or primary European qualifications

3.—(1) For section 3 of the Act there is substituted—

S-3

Registration by virtue of primary United Kingdom or primary European qualifications.

3.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act any person who—

(a)

(a) holds one or more primary United Kingdom qualifications and has passed a qualifying examination and satisfies the requirements of this Part of this Act as to experience; or

(b)

(b) being a national of any EEA State, holds one or more primary European qualifications,

is entitled to be registered under this section as a fully registered medical practitioner.

(2) Any person who—

(a)

(a) is not a national of an EEA State; but

(b)

(b) is, by virtue of a right conferred by article 11 of Regulation (EEC) No. 1612/684, or any other enforceable Community right, entitled to be treated, for the purposes of access to the medical profession, no less favourably than a national of such a State,

shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) above as if he were such a national.

(3) In this Act—

“the EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993;

“EEA State” means a State which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement.”

(2) After subsection (2) of section 5 of the Act (general functions of the Education Committee in relation to medical education in the United Kingdom) there is inserted—

S-2A

“2A In making the determinations required by subsection (2) above, the Education Committee shall secure that the requirements of article 23 of Directive 93/16/EECare satisfied.

S-2B

2B The requirements of that article are that any person who fulfils the conditions mentioned in section 3(1)(a) above—

(a) will have acquired—

(i) adequate knowledge of the sciences on which medicine is based and a good understanding of the scientific methods including the principles of measuring biological functions, the evaluation of scientifically established facts and the analysis of data,

(ii) sufficient understanding of the structure, functions and behaviour of healthy and sick persons, as well as relations between the state of health and physical and social surroundings of the human being,

(iii) adequate knowledge of clinical disciplines and practices, providing him with a coherent picture of mental and physical diseases, of medicine from the points of view of prophylaxis, diagnosis and therapy and of human reproduction, and

(iv) suitable clinical experience in hospitals under appropriate supervision; and

(b) will have undergone medical training comprising at least a six-year course, or 5,500 hours of theoretical and practical instruction, which—

(i) was given in a university or under the supervision of a university, and

(ii) was open only to persons holding qualifications adequate for admission to university for such training.”

(3) In subsection (4) of that section, immediately before the definition of “the prescribed knowledge and skill” there is inserted—

““Directive 93/16/EEC” means Council Directive 93/16/EECof 5 April 1993 to facilitate the free movement of doctors and the mutual recognition of their diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications—

(a) as adapted by paragraph 4(a) of Annex VII to the EEA Agreement, in which the primary medical qualifications awarded in EEA States are set out; and

(b) as amended by the Act annexed to the Treaty relating to the accession of the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to the European Union, signed at Corfu on 24th June 19945, as adjusted by the Decision of the Council of the European Union of 1st January 1995 adjusting the instruments concerning the accession of new member States to the European Union6;”.

S-4 Primary qualifications obtained in other EEA States

Primary qualifications obtained in other EEA States

4.—(1) For section 17 of the Act there is substituted—

S-17

Primary qualifications obtained in other EEA States.

17.—(1) A primary European qualification for the purposes of this Part of this Act is any of the following obtained in an EEA State other than the United Kingdom, namely—

(a)

(a) a European qualification listed in Schedule 2 to this Act which was obtained on or after the implementation date and is not evidence of training commenced before that date;

(b)

(b) subject to compliance with subsection (2) below, a qualification obtained before...

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