Threat of new European legislation to health care exaggerated
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《英国医生杂志》
The European Commission has forcefully rejected claims from the medical profession that draft legislation being negotiated in Brussels would pose a serious threat to the NHS. But it has admitted that the text now on the table must be reworked to remove existing ambiguities.
Margot Froehlinger, a senior commission official told a public hearing organised by the European Parliament last week, "The commission understands the particular sensitivity of health. It accepts that the implications are not entirely clear and that the text needs to be improved. However, it will not require member states to change the way they organise and finance their health systems."
Mrs Froehlinger was responding to concerns, raised by the BMA and others, that proposals designed to enable a wide range of professionals in the services sector to work anywhere in the European Union would limit the ability of national health authorities to set their own standards.
In particular, critics object to the country of origin principle, which states that professionals, whether they be doctors, nurses, or travel agents, who have acquired the necessary qualifications in their own countries would be able to practise elsewhere.
Rita Baeten, speaking on behalf of the Brussels based European Social Observatory, told the hearing, "The proposal would inevitably lead to deregulation in this sector where regulation is a crucial element for quality and cost control."
The European Commission insists that the interpretation misrepresents the objectives of the planned legislation. Mrs Froehlinger pointed out that under the services directive "every hospital, home for the aged, and medical practice would be entirely covered by the rules and regulations of the country in which it was located. No one could establish a hospital in Belgium without being covered by Belgian law."
The country of origin principle, she added, would have little impact on the health sector and would only apply to medical professionals working individually. Even then, their competence would be guaranteed by parallel European legislation now in the pipeline on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications. This enables host authorities to check an individual抯 credentials and to impose disciplinary measures in cases of malpractice.
Malcolm Harbour, a British Conservative MEP, closely involved in processing the legislation, described fears that it would undermine national health services as "complete nonsense." He explained that the legislation is designed to cover the situation of medical professionals who tend to live in border areas and have patients in two or even three countries.
But some doctors remained unconvinced by the commission抯 explanation. Just two days after the Brussels hearings, representatives from medical associations throughout Europe met and unanimously agreed that the health sector should be exempt from the future services legislation.
Dr Edwin Borman, the head of the British Medical Association抯 international committee, said: "There is a growing consensus from those involved in the delivery of health care that the EU directive is fundamentally flawed."(Brussels Rory Watson)
Margot Froehlinger, a senior commission official told a public hearing organised by the European Parliament last week, "The commission understands the particular sensitivity of health. It accepts that the implications are not entirely clear and that the text needs to be improved. However, it will not require member states to change the way they organise and finance their health systems."
Mrs Froehlinger was responding to concerns, raised by the BMA and others, that proposals designed to enable a wide range of professionals in the services sector to work anywhere in the European Union would limit the ability of national health authorities to set their own standards.
In particular, critics object to the country of origin principle, which states that professionals, whether they be doctors, nurses, or travel agents, who have acquired the necessary qualifications in their own countries would be able to practise elsewhere.
Rita Baeten, speaking on behalf of the Brussels based European Social Observatory, told the hearing, "The proposal would inevitably lead to deregulation in this sector where regulation is a crucial element for quality and cost control."
The European Commission insists that the interpretation misrepresents the objectives of the planned legislation. Mrs Froehlinger pointed out that under the services directive "every hospital, home for the aged, and medical practice would be entirely covered by the rules and regulations of the country in which it was located. No one could establish a hospital in Belgium without being covered by Belgian law."
The country of origin principle, she added, would have little impact on the health sector and would only apply to medical professionals working individually. Even then, their competence would be guaranteed by parallel European legislation now in the pipeline on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications. This enables host authorities to check an individual抯 credentials and to impose disciplinary measures in cases of malpractice.
Malcolm Harbour, a British Conservative MEP, closely involved in processing the legislation, described fears that it would undermine national health services as "complete nonsense." He explained that the legislation is designed to cover the situation of medical professionals who tend to live in border areas and have patients in two or even three countries.
But some doctors remained unconvinced by the commission抯 explanation. Just two days after the Brussels hearings, representatives from medical associations throughout Europe met and unanimously agreed that the health sector should be exempt from the future services legislation.
Dr Edwin Borman, the head of the British Medical Association抯 international committee, said: "There is a growing consensus from those involved in the delivery of health care that the EU directive is fundamentally flawed."(Brussels Rory Watson)