The Implications of the Francis Report for Professionalism and Regulation in Healthcare

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A seminar by Professor Margot Brazier OBE and Dr Sarah Devaney, Lecturer in Medical Law Centre for Social Ethics and Policy, School of Law, University of Manchester

Margot writes:

"I take as my starting point Robert Francis's most recent report on the failings in standards of care by the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. I will use those of his reflections and recommendations which touch on what professionalism means in a healthcare context as a springboard to outline two projects conducted by two research groups within the School of Law. The first project is run by Professor Margot Brazier in the Centre for Social Ethics and Policy and focuses on the role of the criminal law in medicine. Empirical work on the extent to which the criminal law offence of gross negligence manslaughter is applied in this context was carried out. As a result we have developed recommendations which include a call to widen the circumstances in which the criminal law might play a role. Francis made similar recommendations in his report, and the merits or otherwise of pursuing this will be considered."

"The second project is being run by ManReg: the Manchester Centre for Regulation, Governance and Security. In it, we will be exploring how meaningful the maintenance of a reputation is to a variety of groups, including healthcare practitioners. This can provide guidance to regulators about what regulatory approach and sanctions may be most effective in preventing the types of behaviours highlighted by Francis."