CHRE stands for the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence. This is a public body that monitors the decisions of Fitness to Practise Panels and Committees to ensure they are correct and not unduly lenient.
They were set up by parliament in 2003 in response to criticism that a number of high-profile cases of poor practice and misconduct by healthcare professionals damaged public confidence in healthcare.
They oversee and co-ordinate the work of 9 healthcare regulatory bodies. CHRE was given strong powers to ensure consistency and good practice in the public interest.
Section 29 of the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002 gives CHRE important powers and responsibilities for protecting the public. It is their view that they have used these powers and responsibilities to strengthen the regulatory framework and in doing so, to enhance public protection.
From April 2009 CHRE will be auditing the decisions made by regulators at the initial stages of their Fitness to Practise procedures. This was an interesting addition to their powers following the government White Paper “Trust, Assurance and Safety”. It would suggest that they have a continuing role in medical regulation despite the wide ranging reforms that are taking place in terms of establishing an independent healthcare adjudicator.
If the High Court case law involving CHRE is reviewed, they only appear to involve themselves in appeals where they view their prospects of success as extremely high.
If you are a medical professional and CHRE exercise their power to review your case, this unfortunately means an appearance before the High Court where you will need to make representations that the findings of the committee or panel were correct and any sanction was proportionate.
This is a highly specialized area of law and if you find yourself in this position without representation, please contact MAS for advice. If you do not accept the arguments put forward by CHRE and they win at the High Court, you may find yourself liable for a proportion of their costs.
